K9 Dexter – Oconto County, Wisconsin

Died 2/15/18
Handler – Deputy Todd Skarban

K9 Dexter passes

It is with great sadness the Oconto County Sheriff’s Office WI share the news retired K9 Dexter passed away last night. Dexter began his tour of duty in December of 2008. During this tour, Dexter was an important member of the OCSO team. Dexter searched every school in the county several times a year. Dexter was also used during traffic stops for this and other law enforcement agencies with drug interdiction efforts. Dexter was known for being outstanding at tracking, whether for a missing person or hunting down and apprehending criminals. Dexter retired from OCSO in July of 2017 and stay with his handler Deputy Todd Skarban and his family. The K9 units are an important part of this law enforcement agency and how we protect our community. We are grateful to have the K9s and for the community, who has supported the program for so many years. Godspeed Dexter. Turbo and Barron have it from here.

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.