K9 Hunter – Gurnee, Illinois

Handler – Officer Philip Mazur

Retired Gurnee police dog dies

A retired Gurnee police dog named Hunter has died. The German shepherd had retired in September 2021, according to a Tuesday evening post on the department’s Facebook page. He had joined the department in 2014 and was German Shepherd. Private donations totaling $55,480 allowed the department to acquire the dog .Hunter was named in honor of late Lake County journalist Marlene Hunt, who bequeathed $10,000 to the police dog unit in her will. Hunter was deployed 903 times and assisted 25 agencies with tracking and demonstrations, according to the police department.”We will never forget you, Hunter,” its Facebook post said.

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.