K9 Pandian – Madurai, India

Died – 9/27/18

Dog that helped city police dies

Pandian, a 13-year-old Labrador Retriever, which served Madurai City police for around 10 years, died here on Thursday owing to illness. An official from the city police said that Pandian was a crime specialist, who helped in resolving several theft and murder cases. “One of the notable cases was a burglary in 2008 in Tallakulam police limits in which the dog helped in tracking the car used for the crime. It was rewarded for that,” he said. The official said that the dog had also received prizes at the State police duty meet in 2011-12 and took part in some national-level competitions as well. Pandian was inducted into the dog squad in 2007 and served till early 2017, police sources said.

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.