K9 Elsa – Gwinnett, Georgia

Died – 7/25/24
Handler – Sgt. Dan Larsen

Retired Gwinnett Police K9 Dies After Battle With Spine Illness

After spending nearly seven years with Gwinnett County Police, and battling a spine illness for some time, former K9 officer Elsa has died, police said Monday.Elsa, a Belgian Malinois, was put to rest Thursday, police said. The nature of the spine illness was not fully detailed.She first joined the police department in November 2016. While on the police force, Elsa spent four years with handler Sgt. Dan Larsen and three years with handler Cpl. Austin Hylton, police said.”K9 Officer Elsa consistently tracked down criminals and removed dangerous narcotics from the streets of Gwinnett County. Members of this department will greatly miss her,” police said in a news release.Elsa retired in October 2023, but before then, police said she spent her days helping with arrests and recovering evidence.She completed 545 calls for service and participated in 51 patrol apprehensions, 87 narcotic apprehensions and 133 evidence recoveries, police said.Memorial services were not immediately known Monday afternoon.

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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.
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