K9 Loki – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Died 7/7/18
Handler – Officer Kevin Merkel

Members of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police are mourning a heartbreaking loss. The newest member of the K-9 Unit unexpectedly passed away Saturday. K-9 Loki suddenly came down with aspiration pneumonia. K-9 Loki put a smile on the face of everybody he met and was instantly beloved in the city of Pittsburgh. The sweet, spunky bloodhound puppy celebrated his 10-week birthday on Friday and woke up Saturday seeming happy as could be. “I got a call from my K-9 trainer Bill Watts. He was playing with Loki this morning and Loki was doing fine and all of a sudden he just collapsed,” said Sgt. Sean Duffy, the K-9 Unit Supervisor for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. They rushed K-9 Loki to an emergency veterinary hospital where he was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. They gave him oxygen, antibiotics and sedated him. “They were going to watch him for two days. And within an hour, he declined rapidly,” said Sgt. Duffy. At 2:45 p.m., Loki passed away. “It is a tragedy. We worked a long time to get Loki here. And we finally got him here and finally started his training and this happens,” said Sgt. Duffy. Loki was cremated. K-9 Officer Kevin Merkel will be keeping his ashes because he would have been Loki’s handler. K-9 Loki’s police family had a memorial service for him. Sgt. Duffy read Lord Byron’s poem Epitaph to a Dog. “He talks about his dog who possessed beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity,” said Sgt. Duffy, quoting lines from the poem. Sgt. Duffy wants the K-9 Unit’s new motto to be “courage without ferocity.” “Because that just nails it on the head what the K-9s are all about,” said Sgt. Duffy. Even though K-9 Loki never got a chance to grow into his important role, his passing leaves a huge void in the hearts of the officers who loved him. “He was adorable. We’re going to miss him so much,” said Sgt. Duffy. In the future, Sgt. Duffy told KDKA he is confident the department will get another bloodhound to do the important job Loki would have done in finding people who have gone missing. Right now, they are mourning Loki’s passing and asking for prayers.

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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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