K9 Candy – Virginia Beach, Virginia

Handler – Master Deputy II Anthony Natalzia

Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office has final walkout for Candy, K9 diagnosed with cancer

The Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office held a final walkout Monday morning for one of its K9 dogs, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Candy, a German shepherd, was diagnosed last week and the disease has progressed quickly. She was the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office’s first narcotics-detection dog and was set to retire this year at 11 years old. During the walkout, deputies lined a hallway at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center and saluted Candy’s final departure from work. She carried her favorite tennis ball and was escorted by her family: Master Deputy II Anthony “Tony” Natalzia, his wife and their three children.“Candy was a true pro. She was the first VBSO K9, the OG,” Natalzia wrote in a news release. “She loved to work; she lived for it. There is no doubt in my mind she stayed strong and continued to fight until she just could not anymore. The bond and trust we had was something I had never experienced before. Candy will be missed.”Candy was one of three K9s within the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office’s K9 unit. The other two are Gaston, a 7-year-old German shepherd certified in detecting explosives, and Pablo, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois being trained to detect narcotics.Candy was the only K9 certified in detecting marijuana, which wasn’t part of Pablo’s training because of the legalization of marijuana in Virginia.“The Virginia Beach Correctional Center and this community are safer thanks to K9 Candy,” Virginia Beach Sheriff Rocky Holcomb wrote. “We are grateful for her service and for all our K9 deputies and their handlers. This is a hard loss for the VBSO.”

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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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