K9 Quinn, Brisbane, Australia

Died 7/11/22
Handler – Senior Sergeant Sean Baxendell

Death of retired police dog, PD Quinn

Retired Police Dog Quinn, attached to Brisbane Dog Squad, tragically passed away on July 11, aged 12. His service commenced with Brisbane Dog Squad in December 2012 before retiring in December 2017.PD Quinn and Senior Sergeant Sean Baxendell were a formidable team, who held offenders to account and brought answers to families of missing people across Queensland.Senior Sergeant Baxendell recalls one occasion where PD Quinn was able to identify a concealed grave which helped solve a homicide investigation in 2013.“An international visitor went missing in South Brisbane and a homicide investigation was commenced,” he said.“At the time, there was no evidence of the missing person and the suspects at the time, were due to leave the country.“PD Quinn was deployed to a number of sites and located the missing person’s body in a concealed grave in Algester. Subsequently, the suspects were arrested prior to leaving the country.“Without PD Quinn’s acute ability to detect human remains, there would be a family without answers today.”On another occasion, PD Quinn tracked two offenders wanted for armed robbery at Ipswich.
They were located by PD Quinn in a make shift tunnel in floodwaters two hours after evading police and PolAir.PD Quinn was also one of 10 police dogs who undertook specialist tactical training for G20 and was deployed to the state’s Far North for the event. He was also awarded the Canine Service Award by the German Shepherd Dog Council of Australia in 2017.Senior Sergeant Baxendell’s bond with PD Quinn was like no other.“My family and I are heartbroken with Quinn’s passing, he has left a big hole in our hearts. “We were inseparable, even in retirement I used to bring him to work where he stood guard and greeted all those who visited our office.“He will be missed.”PD Quinn served with honour, and it was an honor to serve with him.

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.