K9 Maverick – Topeka, Kansas

Died – 8/2/16

Maverick, a Topeka Police service dog, dies
K9 had an intracranial brain bleed caused by an aneurysm

Maverick, a Topeka Police Department service dog, has passed away of an intracranial brain bleed caused by an aneurysm, officials said Tuesday in a news release. Lt. Colleen Stuart said Tuesday afternoon a necropsy, or animal autopsy, was done by a veterinarian at Topeka Veterinary and Surgical Hospital to determine the cause of death. The autopsy found no trauma outside of the canine’s body was found. Stuart said Maverick was running a training track Monday and showed no signs of illness after finishing the training. About 15 minutes after being placed back a air-conditioned patrol vehicle, he started to display unusual behavior consistent with a seizure, police said. Maverick was immediately taken to the department-contracted veterinarian for examination. He was sedated and stabilized and then transferred to the 24-hour vet clinic for observation overnight. Police said at 9:45 p.m. Monday Maverick died while having another seizure. Stuart, in the release, said the vehicle the dog was is equipped with a temperature monitoring system so the dog’s handler can monitor the temperature inside the vehicle. “This system was working correctly and the interior temperature of the vehicle was between 60-65 degrees when the canine began having medical problems,” Stuart said in the release.

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.