K9 Gunner – Avery County, North Carolina

Died – 7/25/17

Police dog killed by stray dog

An Avery County, North Carolina, Sheriff’s Department police dog was killed by a stray dog on Saturday. Deputy Preston Slagle of the Carter County Sheriff’s Department reported he was routine patrol in Roan Mountain at 11:45 a.m. Saturday when he noticed several Avery County patrol cars parked on the side of the road. He stopped to see if assistance was needed and was told about a dog attack about an hour earlier. The Avery county officers reported that one of their deputies, Brett Stockton, is a Roan Mountain resident, and he had his assigned police dog, Gunner, training outside. While the training was going on, Stockton said, Gunner was attacked by a stray dog he had not seen around the area before. He said the stray dog was a silver pit bull mix. Stockton rushed his dog to the Roan Mountain Animal Hospital, where the dog succumbed to his injuries. Deputy Slagle spoke with veterinarian Brett Stocktonat the animal hospital and reported that she told him the police dog had massive head and chest trauma and also had an injury to a back leg. Slagle went through the neighborhood, but none of the residents said they had seen a dog matching the description of the stray dog.

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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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