K9 Zorro – Hamilton County, Tennessee

Died – 2/10/19

Hamilton Co. Sheriff’s Office mourns passing of K-9 Deputy Zorro

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) shared the sad news Friday that a K-9 deputy who served our community for 7 years has passed away. Sheriff Jim Hammond says K-9 Deputy Zorro died on Sunday, February 10th. Zorro was born in 2007, and began his career with the sheriff’s office a year later. He was trained in criminal apprehension, handler protection, tracking, and detecting narcotics.Zorro was credited with helping federal, state, and local law enforcement on catching numerous suspects and countless narcotics seizures, which the HCSO says ultimately led to successful state and federal prosecutions.Zorro retired in 2015, and lived out the rest of his life with his handler and their family as a cherished friend and treasured companion. The HCSO is proud of Zorro and his service to our community.

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.