K9 Duran – Ohio State University

Tonight, K-9 Duran, “the old man,” crossed the rainbow bridge. He was surrounded by his family, his partner, his trainers, several other members of our Storm Dog training group and his mama. Duran was a retired dual purpose bomb dog from the Ohio State University Police Department who trained with Six back in his working days and we were lucky enough and honored to have had him become a part of our family a year and a half ago. One of the best and most rewarding decisions we ever made, was to welcome Duran into our home to live out his retirement with the love he deserved by not only us, but our friends and amazing neighbors. But the love we gained in return was more than we could have ever asked for or imagined. Duran was a fighter and one of the toughest little dogs I’ve ever seen. He fought all the way to the end when he knew it was time and the void he has left behind will never be filled. He spent his last few days spending as much time as possible with his mama and girls. Duran was 100% a mamas boy and they loved each other from day one. Today he got spoiled until it was time. He had treats, a cheeseburger, a pup cup from Mega Moo and as many snuggles as he could stand. We want to send a huge thank you to the best vet out there, Scott Yancey, and all the staff at the Yancey Clinic of Veterinary Medicine. They took care of Duran for the 18 months while we had him and went out of their way from day one until today to give him the best care possible. We can’t say thank you enough. Another Huge thank you to the Boyd Funeral Home for taking care of our boy after he crossed the bridge. Thank you to everyone who helped today. He was loved and it showed.

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.