K9 Reno – Eureka, Missouri

Handler – Sgt. Mike Werges

Eureka Police Department mourns loss of K9

The Eureka Police Department is mourning the loss of a K9. Reno was recently diagnosed with an aggressive auto immune disease. He was Sgt. Mike Werges’ second K9 partner and served the community of Eureka from 2012 to 2019. Reno was certified in both patrol and narcotics detection by the North American Police Work Dog Association. The team won multiple awards together over the 7-year span including being named the top narcotics detection team by the German Shepherd Dog Club of St. Louis in 2013. Reno conducted hundreds of searches during his career and visited with thousands of citizens. In 2017, Sgt. Werges received the North American Police Work Dog Association Trainer of the year award. The Eureka Police Department has hosted 10 North American Police Work Dog Association State Workshops and 3 National Workshops in the last 13 years. The Eureka Police Department K9 Program was formed in 1993. Reno was the fourth K9 to serve the community. ‘Rest in Peace Reno, you did your job well,’ The Eureka Police Department wrote on Facebook.

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.