K9 Aron – Houston, Texas

Died – 6/12/23
Houston Police K-9 ‘Aron’ dies inside hot vehicle

The Houston Police Department has confirmed that a K-9 died in a ‘tragic accident’ on Monday afternoon. According to a statement: HPD K-9 Aron, who is 4-years-old with one and half years of service at the department, passed away from heat exhaustion. The statement said, “the handler left Aron in a running, air-conditioned patrol vehicle, which is a necessary and common practice when the K-9 partner is not actively engaged in police work. When Aron’s police handler returned to the vehicle, it was discovered that the engine had shut off and Aron was in distress. He was transported to an emergency veterinarian clinic, but ultimately succumbed to the heat.” Officials said, “HPD K-9 vehicle share equipped with a system that notifies the handler, sounds the horn, activates cooling fans, and rolls down the car windows, if for some reason the vehicle shuts down. This did not happen in this instance. HPD is investigating the tragedy to determine what went wrong and to prevent this from happening in the future. All HPD vehicles that transport K-9s will immediately be inspected by the vendor to ensure the systems are working properly. Please keep Aron’s handler and the entire K-9 team in your prayers as they mourn the loss of Aron.”

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.