K9 Santos – Union, North Carolina

Died 3/21/25
Handler – Brian Seaman

Beloved retired Union County K9 Santos dies, leaving a legacy of service

With heavy hearts the Union County Sheriff’s Office shared the loss of retired K9 Santos on social media, who passed away on Friday, March 21.Santos, a full-blooded Black and Silver Male Malinois, served with honor and dedication for over a decade, becoming a cherished member of the community, the sheriff’s office said.Born in Holland and trained with Dutch commands, deputies said K9 Santos was a true testament to the bond between a dog and his handler.In November 2011, he completed his Basic Handler course alongside his handler, Brian Seaman, at Enforcement K-9 Inc. in Burgaw. Together, they formed a dynamic duo that would go on to serve the citizens of Union County.K9 Santos was fully certified in obedience, apprehension, handler protection, building & open area searches, narcotic detection, article searches, and tracking.

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 - 2025 Louise Krause Memorials to Fallen K-9's Hosted By PC-GEEK Site Maintained BY Jim Cortina