K9 Drago – Cook County, Illinois

Died – 6/14/17
Handler – Ofc Serratore

K-9 dies in patrol car from heat exhaustion

Cook County Forest Preserves K-9 died June 14 in a patrol car apparently from complications caused by heat exposure, officials said. The K-9, known as Drago, is believed to have been left unattended in the forest preserve police car while the officer processed an alleged suspect at the Oak Forest Police Department, said Lambrini Lukidis, communications director for the forest preserves. “We are heartbroken to lose one a canine member of the Forest Preserves of Cook County Police Department,” forest preserves officials said in a statement. “The protection of wildlife and living things are at the core of our mission and we take this loss very seriously. We are currently looking into the circumstances of this incident.” Oak Forest police and fire departments staff members unsuccessfully tried to revive Drago after the officer discovered the K-9, according to a deleted post by the Oak Forest Police K9 Memorial Facebook page. The high temperature in Oak Forest was 92 degrees on June 14, according to the National Weather Service. Drago was a member of the preserves police K-9 unit for three years. In April, the dog notably located a dementia patient after he went missing. Forest preserves officials would not comment further about the incident, saying they have an an ongoing investigation.

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