K9 Juma – Wood County, Texas

In July 2018, Juma and Constable Kelly Smith became partners and best friends when she was donated to Wood County by K9 Officers (www.K9officers.org). K9 officers, a non-profit organization was formed by Rocky and Shannon Smith to provide police K9s, handler training and equipment to law enforcement agencies. They probably had no idea the impact they would make on the entirety of Wood County when they gave such a gift. Juma was trained when she was donated, but the pair also did five week of basic training in narcotics detection and an additional three weeks to add tracking to her list of skills at Houston K9 Academy (www.houstonk9academy.com). Smith and Juma attended many seminars, conferences and competitions, and trained weekly with a group of East Texas K9 units. After only being together for one year, Juma placed 34 out of 150 at the National K9 Competition in Fort Worth. She was featured in nationwide magazines and was known throughout the world for her work as a K9 officer. The longer they were together, the more bonded Juma and Smith became. In the time they served together, Juma led to the seizure of several thousands of dollars of stolen items and vehicles, the capture of drug manufacturers and distributors in Wood County, and led the way on several manhunts. She was a force to be reckoned with while working, but when she wasn’t working, she was everyone’s friend. She loved visiting with the citizens she protected, especially children. She was a public relations genius and captured the attention of everyone in the room as she walked in. She always had the biggest smile as she posed for pictures with her fans.In July 2020, after experiencing a health crisis that led to a diagnosis of Addison’s Disease, Juma had to be decommissioned. On September 22, almost exactly two years after becoming Wood County’s favorite K9 Officer, Juma retired from service. She stayed in the home of her handler, Kelly Smith, and his family where she was loved and treated like a queen. K9 Juma has been a law enforcement staple in East Texas and on Thursday, she’ll take her final ride. According to Wood County Constable Kelly Smith, Juma developed Addison’s disease which caused frequent vomiting and diarrhea that led to dehydration and significant weight loss.”She has stopped eating and will only eat if we force feed her, which she vomits back up,” Constable Smith said in a Facebook post. “A low aldosterone level has caused her kidneys to fail to conserve sodium or excrete potassium, and she has become severely dehydrated. During this Addisonian crisis, low blood pressure, low blood sugar and high levels of potassium have become life-threatening.” Juma will participate in her last call Thursday beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Wood County Courthouse. From there, she will travel to the Lindale Veterinary Clinic. Juma was being kept comfortable by Smith and his wife, who is a veterinarian.

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.