K9 Riggs – Oakland County, Michigan

Died 8/13/21 Handler 

Oakland County Sheriff, 2 year old K-9, dies in the arms of his handler

The Oakland County Sheriff’s reports K-9 Riggs has died while in the arms of his handler. Riggs was a 2-year-old Dutch Shepherd named Riggs who died from an apparent heart attack. Results from the necropsy performed at Michigan State University revealed the cause of death. The sheriff’s department was young and appeared to be in excellent health, suggesting he may have had a genetic defect. The Sheriff’s Department says Riggs died Aug. 13 in the arms of his handler, Deputy Harvey Wilson, who was exercising the dog while on duty at the Meadow the Brook Amphitheatre on the campus of Oakland University. “Our animals are such a great part of our life and impact us in so many positive ways and their passing leaves a huge void,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “Especially in this circumstance where this was one of our newer dogs that had shown such great promise and connection with people. He will be greatly missed.” Riggs was imported from the Netherlands and purchased by the Sheriff’s Office in September.

Tags

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.
| Old Memorials | Site Map
Copyright © 1973 - 2024 Louise Krause Memorials to Fallen K-9's Hosted By PC-GEEK Site Maintained BY Jim Cortina