K9 Thoro – Waunakee, Wisconsin

Died – 6/22/20
Handler – Officer Mitch Houk

Waunakee police K-9 dies after illness

A K-9 officer with the Waunakee Police Department died on Monday, according to a social media post by the department. Authorities said K-9 officer Thoro became extremely ill ten days ago. “As a member of the police department family and a member of the Houk family, K-9 Thoro will be greatly missed,” the post said. Thoro joined the department in 2017 and was partnered with officer Mitch Houk. Thoro was born in Holland in December 2015 and brought to the United States by Shallow Creek Kennels in Pennsylvania where he was trained for police work. “Although his time with our department was cut short, his impact while here was great,” the post said. Officer Houk and Thoro spent 200 hours training to be certified in drug detection and tracking prior to going on patrol. The team was certified by the nationally recognized North American Police Work Dog Association. Thoro was also used during education presentations in the village.

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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.
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