K9 Koogan – Sonoma County, California

Died 6/22/16
Handler – Deputy Jon Watson

It’s been a tough few days for two Sonoma County (CA) law enforcement agencies; each lost an integral part of their team. Sebastopol Police Department K-9 Frank and Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Koogan both died this week. Frank, a German shepherd, garnered massive public attention as he battled two bouts of lymphoma.He worked alongside Sgt. Nick Belliveau as long as he could. He died at about 6 p.m. Wednesday, a department release said. “Frank was beloved by many local schoolchildren. He calmed many potentially violent offenders by his presence alone. And he was effective at apprehending suspects,” the release said. Sonoma County Sheriff’s K-9 Koogan was described as a “spirited” yellow Lab who was trained in narcotics detection. Koogan worked and lived with his handler, Deputy Jon Watson, from 2004 to 2010, when he retired. During that time, he searched cars, jails, packages and schools.In all, he helped seize countless firearms, more than 19 pounds of methamphetamine, 42 pounds of cocaine, 253 pounds of marijuana, eight pounds of heroin, and five pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. “After Koogan retired to live with his family, he never lost his desire to go to work,” the post 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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