K9 JR – Pitttsburgh, Pennsylvania

Died – 3/3/25
1st Handler – Officer Tony Yauch
2nd Handler -Officer Thomas Lockard

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police lost a valued member of the force on Monday, March 3, 2025 after a short illness and a diagnosis of declining health.K9 Jr. came to the City of Pittsburgh in the fall of 2016 and officially hit the streets in late December of that year. He was first assigned to handler, Officer Tony Yauch, who later retired from the Bureau. K9 Jr. was then reassigned to handler Officer Thomas (Casey) Lockard and has been partnered with him since May of 2019.K9 Jr. was one of the department’s best dogs and he was always ready to work. During in-service training he was consistently at the top of his game, whether it be performing odor work (explosives detection) or patrol work. He hit like a freight train and any of the current K9 handlers would agree he was one of the best in the business. Rest easy K9 Jr., you will be greatly missed.

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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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