K9 Ivo – Fort Collins, Colorado

Died – 11/12/19

Police K9 passes away during surgery

A police K9 in Fort Collins has passed away after veterinarians discovered the dog had cancer during a surgery this week. Ivo was a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois who began working with Fort Collins police in December 2017. He was trained in patrol work and narcotics detection, police said. Ivo recently became sick and underwent surgery on Tuesday. During the procedure, veterinarians discovered “rapidly-developing and widely-spread cancer,” police said in a news release. Ivo died peacefully during the surgery. On Wednesday, police and a motorcade escorted Ivo from the CSU Flint Animal Cancer Center and several agencies paid their respects, including the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, CSU police, Longmont police and the CSU Veterinary Hospital staff. “The bond between a handler and K9 is significant,” Sgt. Sean Giddings, who leads the FCPS K9 Unit, said in the news release. “This morning’s display of support from our first responder partners and CSU veterinary staff was a fitting tribute to an unforgettable dog. Though his life was short, he served our community with distinction.”

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.