K9 Kinako – Kagawa, Japan

Died – 3/20/17

Beloved clumsy police dog ‘Kinako’ goes to heaven

A former police dog named Kinako, who gained popularity for her goofy nature and earnest efforts toward her profession, died apparently of old age on March 20 at age 14, officials at the Marugame Dog School announced. The female Labrador retriever continued to fail the police dog test every year from 2004 before finally managing to pass the exam in November 2010 on her seventh try. The canine had since worked hard as a police dog registered with Kagawa Prefectural Police, until she retired in the spring of 2013. The dog attracted many fans after being featured in a movie, TV programs and books, and was appointed a special “police officer” for education by the prefectural police force in February 2008. Born in May 2002, Kinako was given the name as the color of her hair resembled that of soybean flour, or “kinako” in Japanese. Kinako’s daughter, Komugi, also passed the police dog test on her fifth attempt. Atsushi Kameyama, 30, a canine trainer at the Marugame Dog School where Kinako grew up, said, “I spent so much time with Kinako, so it’s really sad that she has passed away. She was very docile. She died as if she was in her sleep.”

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.