K9 Chikko – Delta, British Columbia

Died – 12/22/15
Handler – Sergeant Chris Borgstede

Delta Police Mourning the Loss of a Service Dog

The Delta Police Department is in mourning as one of their retired police dogs passed away in the arms of his handler Tuesday evening. Police Service Dog Chikko served the citizens of Delta from 2003 until his retirement in 2009. He assisted in hundreds of files from the most mundane to life threatening situations. “Many a criminal learned from Chikko the painful truth behind the saying, ‘you can run, but you can’t hide’. Many also learned the police dog amendment to that saying, ‘actually, you probably can’t run either’,” said the department in a statement. Once, while assisting in the arrest of a man with an outstanding warrant in South Delta, Chikko was stabbed by the man who emerged from the home and advanced on officers with a pitchfork. The man was ultimately arrested. “Both the officers and the man likely owe their lives to the dog – without Chikko, the only force available would likely have been lethal force with a firearm,” explained the Delta Police. Chikko was also an ambassador for the police department as he regularly performed in demonstrations and school visits. Following his retirement, Chikko lived with his handler Sergeant Chris Borgstede as the family pet. The department has passed along their thought to Borgstede and his family.

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.