K9 Mika – Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Handler – Lt. Christopher Wernig

Retired K-9 Mika Dies, Spent 10 Years With Cherry Hill Police

Retired police K-9 Mika has died at the age of 13, the Cherry Hill Police Department said. Mika was the partner of Lt. Christopher Wernig, and was an integral part of the police team from Oct. 2010 to April 2021, according to the CHPD.K-9 Mika earned numerous awards and commendations for his service, including from the U.S. Police Canine Association for drug detection. While on duty he located missing people, found “hundreds of pounds” of illegal narcotics, and assisted in the capture of numerous wanted criminals, said police. “He will always be remembered for his participation in our Junior Police Academy and National Night Out demonstrations, as well as countless visits to our schools and religious institutions,” the police department said. Police are asking residents to keep Lt. Wernig and his family in their thoughts and prayers. K-9 Mika was born in Aug. 2009 in Holland, and graduated from the Philadelphia Police Canine Academy in basic patrol and drug detection.

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.