K9 Koa – Lander, Wyoming

Died – 10/19/15
Handler – Officer John Cunningham

LPD K9 Koa has died following being hit by a vehicle

The Lander Police Department announced today that explosives K9 Koa has died after being struck by a vehicle reportedly during a training exercise about a week ago. According to LPD, Koa unexpectedly ran beneath the tire of her handler’s vehicle on Oct. 11 during a training exercise. LPD states that this was a routine exercise, and nothing new to either Koa or the handler, John Cunningham. Koa was receiving treatment at a facility in Colorado since the incident. She reportedly developed complications over the week, including a drug-resistant bacteria in her lungs, pneumonia, and during surgery on her damaged hips, further pre-incident degeneration was found. On Friday evening, it was determined that Koa could not recover, and she was put down. Koa is technically owned by the Wyoming Department of Homeland Security and had thousands of dollars worth of training. It is unknown at this time whether or not Koa will be replaced. In that story, LPD Chief Bob Cecrle said he was looking into the incident without an outside agency. Meanwhile, LPD’s other K9, Kai, is still recovering from injuries after allegedly running into a tree during a separate training incident several weeks ago. Kai is expected to return her drug-sniffing duties, but it is unknown when that will occur.

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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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