K9 Champ – Floyd County, Georgia

Died – 12/1/16

Beloved K-9 deputy “Champ” dies

The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office lost one of its beloved deputies, K-9 Deputy “Champ” on Thursday, December 1. Deputy Champ had been medically retired since October 2011. He was gifted to the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office by former Pepperell Middle School teacher Marilynn Etheridge. Mrs. Etheridge donated Champ in honor of her husband after his passing from cancer in 2005. Champ, who had been the Etheridge’s family pet, was initially trained at the Alabama Canine Law Enforcement Officer’s Training Center, Inc. Over the course of his career Deputy Champ received several certifications: Alacanine, National Narcotic Detector Dog Association, Law Enforcement Training System, and North American Police Working Dog Association. Champ’s service numbers are incredible. He had over 13,000 community contacts in his first year of service and a career average of more than 200 demonstrations annually The Sheriff’s Office will honor the service of the K-9 Deputy by retiring his call number. Please keep our K-9 Handler and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

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.