K9 Chief – Wellsville, Ohio

Handler – Officer Joe Saraniti

Wellsville mourns loss of beloved police K9 Chief

A four-legged former member of the Wellsville Police Department has passed away.The department announced on its Facebook page that the retired K9 Chief has died at the age of 12.Chief joined the department in 2013 after being imported from the Netherlands and trained at Shallow Creek Kennels Premier Police Service Dogs.Working alongside his handler, Patrolman Joe Saraniti, until his retirement in June of 2022, Chief was deployed hundreds of times during his career with the Wellsville Police Department as a patrol and narcotics canine.According to the Facebook post, Chief was known for his trademark “smile” and love of children. He spent his retirement years with Saraniti and his family before ultimately succumbing to kidney failure earlier this week.

Tags

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.
| Old Memorials | Site Map
Copyright © 1973 - 2024 Louise Krause Memorials to Fallen K-9's Hosted By PC-GEEK Site Maintained BY Jim Cortina