K9 Totti – Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

Died 7/7/16

Police K-9 dies after being left in hot car following training exercise

A department of corrections K-9 died last week after its handler left the dog in a hot vehicle for over two and a half hours following a training exercise at SCI-Rockview. The incident happened on July 7 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. The K-9, a 2-year-old Yellow Lab named Totti, was used in the Drug Interdiction Unit, according to Pennsylvania Department of Corrections spokeswoman Susan McNaughton. At around 2:45 p.m., the handler realized that Totti was still in the hot vehicle. He rushed to the vehicle and began giving the dog emergency aid. Totti was taken to a veterinarian, but later died. This is the first such incident since the inception of the Department of Corrections Drug Interdiction Unit in 1995, according to a news release from the Pa. Department of Corrections. The DOC has 22 handlers and dogs and is in the process of moving its K-9 training facility from the boot camp to SCI-Rockview. Following Totti’s death, the director of the Drug Interdiction Unit met with all handlers to review the care and handling of dogs to ensure this does not happen again. The director is looking into new technology/safeguards to prevent this type of tragedy from occurring again.
Timeline:
12:15 p.m.- Dog handler stored training items in his vehicle at the end of a training session
2:44 p.m.- Dog handler realized Totti was locked in the car. Dog handler and other Drug Interdiction Union staff cooled Totti down with water and carefully placed him in ice to reduce body temperature.
2:58 p.m.- Totti was placed in truck and driven to vet clinic.
4:15 p.m.- Totti’s body temperature was back to normal, but creatine levels were high; blood sugar was low but being treated; heart rate remained elevated
7:30 p.m.- Totti passed away

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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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