K9 Ledger – Cotulla, Texas

Cotulla residents want proper burial for K-9 officer
K9 died inside hot car

An entire community is up in arms over the burial of a K-9 deputy. Ledger was killed when his handler left him in a parked car and was then buried without a ceremony in that handler’s yard. Ledger’s death has had a huge impact in Cotulla, a small town in which had seen and met the K-9. They say they were outraged to learn that the sheriff’s department had waited weeks to inform the public, and even more outraged when the heard how Ledger was buried.On Thursday morning, Donna, a disabled K-9 veteran, was given a soldier’s sendoff. She was carried to spend her last moments in dignity. “I’m overwhelmed, I’m humbled,” her handler said. “I don’t think that Donna could ever be replaced.” That was in Bexar County. In LaSalle County, there was no such sight. Taylor Edwards, 16, has been collecting signatures ever since he learned his county lost a K-9, not in dignity, but in a hot car. “He is an officer of the law. He is officer ledger. And he deserves all the honors a human would receive,” Edwards said. Worse yet, he had to learn of Ledger’s death on his own.”I had no idea ledger had died. Honestly, I can’t say whether or not it was intentional, but it seems to me they intentionally did not want people to know of Ledger’s death,” Edwards said. Now the county is making its voice heard, with nearly 500 signatures and counting. The petition says that Ledger served as an officer and, like Donna, should be buried like one. The LaSalle County Sheriff’s Office said that they currently don’t have any protocol for burying K-9 deputies because, historically, they haven’t had any. The LaSalle County Sheriff released a statement saying, in part: “K-9 Ledger has been buried on private property in accordance with his handler’s wishes, and he has been buried with respect and with recognition of his value to the sheriff’s office. We are reassured that K-9 Ledger was buried with respect and honor, and that an American flag marks his final resting place.”

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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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