K9 Lenin – Baytown, Texas

Died – 3/9/23
Handler – Officer Kinzie

Baytown PD mourning loss of K-9 who was bitten by venomous snake

The Baytown Police Department is mourning the loss of one of their own and held a special procession Thursday in honor of Lenin, who officers say made a lasting impact on the department’s K-9 Unit. According to officers, Lenin was a beloved member and served as the first bomb and gun detection dog for the department. He was one of eight K-9 units of the police department. Unfortunately, his life was cut short after being bitten by a venomous snake. According to police, it happened during an on-duty training exercise on Wednesday. Efforts to save him were not enough. Chief John Stringer honored Lenin, describing him as a member who made “significant contributions to the safety of Baytown in his short time with our department, and he will be missed. “Baytown police say he was assigned to K-9 officer Hunter Kinzie. Together, they worked on several large explosive sweeps in and around Baytown. According to the department, in February, he won the Top Bomb Dog Award against 75 other K-9 teams after competing and training in a week-long seminar in Alabama.

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.