K9 Edo – Roswell, Georgia

Died – 4/5/24
Handler – Officer Peter MacDonald

Roswell police announce K-9 passes away after brief battle with cancer

The Roswell Police Department announced, “with a heavy heart,” that one of their K-9s had passed away.According to Roswell police, K-9 Edo was being treated for a sudden medical emergency and was diagnosed with an aggressive and widespread form of cancer.Edo was born March 16, 2019 in Hungary and joined the Roswell Police Department in August 2020 as the partner of Officer Peter MacDonald.The Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix was trained as a dual-purpose K-9 for narcotics detection, criminal apprehension, tracking, building searches and evidence recovery, according to the department.On Friday, Edo passed away peacefully surrounded by the love and affection of his police family, the department said.Police said Edo served the Roswell community courageously and unwaveringly alongside MacDonald and will be deeply missed.

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.