K9 Ellie – Hartley County, Texas

Died – 11/26/18
Handler – Deputy Chief Chanze Fowler

Hartley County Sheriff’s Office K9 passes away after 9 years of service

K9 Ellie with the Hartley County Sheriff’s Office has passed away after nine years and four months of service. K9 Ellie was donated by a Weimaraner breeder by request of Deputy Chief Chanze Fowler, who also acted as her handler. Ellie trained with Chief of Police Tom Sanford in Dalhart and with the Amarillo Police Department for a year. On June 1, 2004, she started working with the Hartley County Sheriff’s Office and retired October 1, 2013. During her career, K9 Ellie helped the DPS with a vehicle search where $252,000 was found in a cooler. The Hartley County Sheriff’s Office also said she helped with many drug seizures, from a couple of pounds to 90 pounds of marijuana. K9 Ellie passed away on November 26 at 14 years old.

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.