K9 Drago – Franklin County, Massachusetts

Died – 12/28/19
Handler – Capt. Scott Waldron

Drago, first K-9 of Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, dies

It’s been said that all dogs go to heaven. If this is true, the afterlife just got some new police detail. Drago, the first K-9 deputy of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, died of natural causes after becoming ill over the weekend. He was 9 years old. “We will miss Drago,” Sheriff Christopher Donelan said. “He was our first, he was excellent at what he did, and all our dogs will be measured against him.” Drago, a German shepherd, was one of two active K-9s at the county jail, the other being K-9 Uno. Donelan said the Sheriff’s Office hopes to find a replacement for Drago. Donelan brought the K-9 Program to the Sheriff’s Office during his first year in office, and Drago joined shortly after in September 2011. Drago and his handler, Capt. Scott Waldron, attended the K-9 patrol class with the Boston Police Department from Sept. 26, 2011, to March 25, 2012. Waldron and Drago provided services to the Massachusetts State Police and to police departments throughout Western Massachusetts. According to Donelan, Drago participated in 420 facility searches of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, 101 tracks (with multiple police departments), 77 car searches (with multiple police departments), six search warrants, eight article searches, 60 school searches, 252 service calls, 102 K-9 demonstrations and 21 apprehensions. He also trained weekly with local police and sheriff’s departments.

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Submitted By Jim Cortina

James A. Cortina has been involved with police dogs since 1972 and currently on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Jim has been appointed as Treasurer since its inception in 1991. Jim is one of the charter members of the C.P.W.D.A. organization. Since 1975 he has been a certified professional dog trainer and received his Master Trainer Certification in 1985. During his career he has provided armed K-9 strike crowd control for security agencies in Connecticut and out of state security companies. In conjunction with other members of the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Board of Directors, he helped to draft Connecticut Statute 53-247(e) "Intentional Injury or Killing of Police K-9" which was passed by the Senate in 1993 and also assisted in implementing the prestigious Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award in 1992. In 1993 he helped coordinate the North American Police Work Dog Association Nationals in New London, Connecticut. He was appointed Training Director for the New London County Work Dog Association from 1985-1987. He performed decoy work for Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. in police K-9 demonstrations, trained several local police department canines, and coordinated training workshops for out-of-state police departments. He participated in the United States Police K-9 Association Trials in Croton on Hudson, New York in 1985 as a decoy. He is an avid photographer and received photography awards in 1989, 1990, and 1991 and currently takes photographs for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc.
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