K9 Havoc – Scottsdale, Arizona

Died – 10/5/17

Beloved Scottsdale police service dog ‘Havoc’ has died

The Scottsdale Police Department is saying goodbye to a beloved four-legged colleague. On Tuesday, police announced that retired police service dog, Havoc, had died. Havoc was 11 years old. The K9 retired from duty in 2016. Havoc spent over 8 years dedicated to the K9 Unit and the citizens of Scottsdale. He and his handler took part in more than 800 K9 missions during their time together. Havoc was often the main K9 used at citizens’ academies and quickly became a crowd favorite. For many years, Havoc was the Explosive Ordinance Detection K9 at all of the major City events. These events included Giants Spring Training baseball games, Barrett Jackson auto shows, the Phoenix Waste Management Open, and the Arabian Horse Show. If there was a large crowd, Havoc was there to keep them safe.

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.