K9 Kira – Springfield, Massachusetts

Died 11/3/16
Handler – Officer Raul Gonzalez

Springfield Police Department mourns loss of longtime K-9

The Springfield Police Department mourned the loss of “Kira”–a police K-9 who passed away Thursday, and had been with the force since 2007. Kira’s ex-partner Officer Raul Gonzalez, of Springfield, eulogized the canine over social media. Gonzalez says that after Kira’s retirement several years back, he had adopted her and she became a “full time family dog.” It was both Kira’s professional achievements and personal warmth that made her a great presence in people’s lives, said Gonzalez. “She helped the Springfield Police Department in locating & apprehending bad guys, locating evidence related to crimes, narcotics and locating missing persons,” said Gonzalez. “K9 Kira was a smart police dog that knew when to use her police skills and when to use her people skills,” he said. Gonzalez also described Kira as enjoying “long walks, hikes, car rides” and said that she “loved people,” often bringing them great joy. “Everyone that knew Kira loved her,” said Gonzalez. “A dog’s life is short, and a police dogs life is even shorter. I hope that I made the best of the time we had with Kira,” he said.

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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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