K9 Mikro – Montgomery County, Tennessee

Died 4/13/20
Handler – Officer Petra Anderson

MCSO K9 SAR Team say goodbye to a loyal partner

Montgomery County Sheriffs Office announced Monday they had to say a final farewell to one of their own. On Easter morning Mikro, a German Shepherd assigned to the MCSO K9 SAR Team, passed away due to what his handler believes was a heart attack or stroke. “He didn’t suffer and he wasn’t alone,” Petra Anderson, Miko’s partner, said in a statement. The K9 would have been just three-years-old on May 3. “This has been a tough couple of months for our team,” said MCSO SAR K9 team. The German Shepherd is said to have been larger than life, and he was most certainly loved. “He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion,” MCSO said in a statement. “Petra, you were worthy!”

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.