K9 Nugget – Ottawa, Illinois

Handler – Officer Dave Hallowell

Retired Ottawa K9 dies of natural causes

The Ottawa Police Department lost an old partner and friend last week when retired bloodhound Nugget died of natural causes. Nugget came to the department when she was nine months old in 2004 and retired in 2012. She lived with her handler, Officer Dave Hallowell, and his family. “She had a long life for sure,” Hallowell said this week. “I’m certain she had health problems because of her age, but there was no medical diagnosis. The median age for bloodhounds is five to eight years old; she was almost 14. That’s a heck of a life for a large breed like that.” Nugget was used strictly for tracking missing people, or criminals on the run. “She worked on such a wide variety of cases because as the only bloodhound in the area, she got called to different jurisdictions for her help,” Hallowell said. “She has done everything from a missing kid to a bank robbery, basically anything that people run away from.” Hallowell recalled Nugget once assisted the Princeton police in a search for an an elderly female with Alzheimer’s who had walked away, as well as searching for a suicidal subject who disappeared on the way to the hospital. Nugget had a strong work ethic, Hallowell said. “She was trained to track,” he said. “She had one mission. She was definitely driven. She wanted to keep going until she couldn’t go anymore.” Still, Nugget was friendly and a big hit with the younger crowd in the city. “She was a nonagressive dog,” Hallowell said. “Although she wasn’t a drug dog, we would go to a lot of DARE events. Even just jumping out of the car at the park was a nice way to engage with the kids.” Although they had a working relationship, Nugget was a part of Hallowell’s family, and like any other family that loses their pet, the death has been difficult. “You can’t be with a dog that long without a bond,” Hallowell said. “She was with me 24 hours a day. It is definitely an adjustment with her not being around.” The department has one K9 on the force, Gussy, a Labrador who does tracking and drug work.

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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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