K9 Neil – Refugio County, Texas

Died 9/1/18

K9 Neil strangled to death

K9 Nell and K9 Grunt were strangled to death by a suspect they were tracking while assisting the Aransas County Sheriff’s Office and other state and federal agencies. Officers in Aransas County had been involved in a pursuit in which 16 illegal aliens bailed out of a vehicle and fled into the brush along Route 35 north of Holiday Beach, Texas. Members of the Aransas County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and United States Border Patrol were searching for the suspects and requested assistance from Refugio County’s tracking team. Nell and Grunt, who were trained to track critically missing persons with dementia, were let off leash as deputies followed them on horseback. The non-aggressive dogs tracked one subject into some brush but did not come out. As deputies called for the man to surrender he taunted them in Spanish. Deputies entered the brush and took him into custody. The bodies of Nell and Grunt were found with their tracking collars twisted tightly around their necks. Both dogs were a mix of black and tan coonhound, bluetick coonhound, and redtick coonhound.

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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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