K9 Buddy – Griffin, Georgia

Died – 2/14/21
Handler – Officer Brian Dorety

Griffin PD mourns death of 4-year-old K9 officer

The Griffin Police Department is morning the loss of one of its loyal K-9 officers. Officials said 4-year-old K-9 officer Buddy’s handler, Officer Brian Dorety, found him dead in his dog house at approximately 10 a.m. on Feb. 14. The department said K-9 officer Buddy died of natural causes. Buddy was born Sept.15, 2016, and joined the Griffin Police Department in August 2018 as a member of the K-9 Unit on the Criminal Apprehension and Gang Enforcement Unit and Special Investigation Unit. Buddy was trained in narcotics, tracking and apprehension. He played a role in a 2020 bust that took $94,215.90 worth of narcotics off of the streets. Buddy recently apprehended an armed suspect safely after they fled into the woods trying to evade arrest. On Buddy’s final day of work, he helped police confiscate 4.4 grams of methamphetamine and arrest the driver of the car on charges of intent to distribute. Police spokesperson Laurie Littlejohn offered a tribute to Buddy in an official statement: “K-9 Buddy was an integral part of the Griffin Police Department. He was relied upon by the entire Griffin Police Department as well as the community of the City of Griffin to help in the mission of making the safety and protection of the Citizens of Griffin our number one priority. “K-9 Buddy, you can now stand down, we will hold the line from here!”

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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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