K9 Buster – Lincolnshire, England

Died 7/16/15
Handler – Flight Sergeant Will Barrow

Buster The Special Spaniel That Saved 1,000 Lives Passes Away

busterukThis spaniel is said to have saved a thousand lives, and it was with a heavy heart that Flight Sergeant Will Barrow from the RAF Police announced the death of his retired Arms and Explosive Search Dog, Buster. Buster, a 13 year old Springer Spaniel passed away at the Barrow’s home in Lincolnshire where he had been enjoying retirement with handler Will, plus two canine companions. Buster completed five tours of duty in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq and it was his exceptional efforts in these austere environments for which he will be remembered. It was the saving of countless lives by searching out IEDs that saw the honor of official lifetime mascot of the RAF Police bestowed upon Buster. Flight Sergeant Barrow documented his experiences with Buster into a best-selling book and as recently as this week, the inseparable pair were out promoting Buster’s service endeavors at a local school where they had been invited to hand out end of year reports to the children. The RAF Police are arranging a special event to celebrate RAF Police Military Working Dogs which will give the Force an opportunity to remember those special companions that have saved thousands of lives and served so admirably. Forces TV had the pleasure of meeting Buster and his handler Flight Sergeant Will Barrow in February this year.

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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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