Died – 10\/9\/17
\nHandler – Officer Brittney Kotynski-Neer<\/p>\n
Heroic Winchester police dog, Kota, finds peace<\/p>\n
Kota, the Winchester police dog that drew national attention in 2014 after falling through an attic floor while helping officers make arrests, died Monday. The German shepherd was 10. The decision to put an animal out of its suffering is always gut -wrenching, but it was extremely painful for police officer Brittney Kotynski-Neer, Kota\u2019s handler. He was her partner from 2009-16 and as the 2014 incident demonstrated, was willing to die for her. Kotynski-Neer said Tuesday that Kota\u2019s spirit was strong, but his body had broken down. The decline was partially due to a disc injury related to the nearly 8-foot fall. It was painful for Kota to walk and his once powerful hind legs began collapsing on him, forcing him to drag them. Kotynski-Neer said it was hard watching her proud dog unable to get his body to work. \u201cI wrestled with the decision,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s no doubt in my mind that it was the right decision and it was the right time for him to go, to put him at peace.\u201d Kota, who was from the Czech Republic, was one of 15 dogs the police department has had, including the two now serving. Kota was the most famous due to the circumstances of his injury. He fell while helping apprehend two burglary suspects hiding in an attic crawl space. Despite breaking his right leg and sustaining other injuries, Kota climbed a flight of stairs to rejoin Kotynski-Neer and complete the arrest. The story touched thousands of people around the nation. They donated $4,530 to pay for the nearly four-hour surgery Kota underwent. Kota and Kotynski-Neer appeared on the \u201cToday\u201d show in New York City, accepted an award at an event for hero dogs in Los Angeles and appeared in a segment of \u201cSaving Private K-9\u201d a cable television show about heroic military and police dogs. Kotynski-Neer, who joined the department in 2006, said she was surprised by the attention the incident drew. She suspects that besides being animal lovers, people were moved by the self-sacrifice of Kota and wondered if they were capable of it under the same circumstances. \u201cYou never know unless it happens,\u201d she said. Kota, a patrol dog whose duties included tracking and sniffing out drugs, didn\u2019t resume patrolling after his injuries, but did do drug sniffing. Kota, who lived with Kotynkski-Neer, last rode with her in October 2016 and officially retired in December.Kotynski-Neer said when officers who worked with Kota learned he was dying, they wanted him to visit the department to give him a final salute. But Kotynski-Neer said she sensed Kota wouldn\u2019t want to be seen with his body deteriorating. Kotynski-Neer said her 4-year-old son is too young to understand the permanence of death, so it\u2019s been tough explaining Kota\u2019s absence. She misses the ritual of hearing Kota\u2019s barks greet her when she returned home. Kota was Kotynksi-Neer\u2019s first patrol dog. She has been patrolling with her new dog, Jax, since July. \u201cThey say there\u2019s no bond quite like your first dog,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s got big shoes to fill.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died – 10\/9\/17 Handler – Officer Brittney Kotynski-Neer Heroic Winchester police dog, Kota, finds peace Kota, the Winchester police dog that drew national attention in 2014 after falling through an attic floor while helping officers make arrests, died Monday. The German shepherd was 10. The decision to put an animal out of its suffering is …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-4037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-va"],"yoast_head":"\n