K9 Axel – Marquette, Wisconsin

Handler – Captain Kowalski

Marquette Co. Sheriff’s Office mourns the death of K-9 Axel

The Marquette County Sheriff’s Office is mourning the passing of their beloved K-9, Axel.

Axel worked with Marquette County for over 10 years, starting in October 2011. Axel met Captain Kowalski first met several months later in July 2011.
Axel and Kowalski worked together from then on, even when Sergeant Kowalski became Captain Kowalski in 2016.
From 2016 through 2022, Axel came to work with Captain Kowalski almost every day and enjoyed his office time. The sheriff’s office says K-9 Axel would put a smile and a happy face on co-workers faces when they saw him. In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office said the pair set a gold standard in the county with K-9 certifications. In their time together, they were the first team to be dual certified both locally and nationally, and they stayed on top of yearly certifications at a Wisconsin technical college. Axel and Kowalski were also nominated as K-9 Handler of the Year in 2016. As a worker, Axel loved tracking people the most. Other jurisdictions would call him in when they needed a good sniffer, as “it was almost a for sure bet K-9 Axel would find them.”
Axel’s second favorite part of the job was community demonstrations and getting to know the people he served. Being invited to churches, schools and libraries made Axel’s day.
• In his law enforcement career, the sheriff’s office said K-9 Axel assisted with 683 cases, including: 307 drugs sniffs
• 201 arrests
• 84 tracks and searches
• 75 public events
• 29 successful tracks and searches
• 10 successful building and area searches
• 3 evidence recoveries
• And not to mention, Axel helped other jurisdictions 85 times
In the post, the sheriff’s office said Captain Kowalski thanked his family for “all the support and time away from home to become the best team they could possibly become.” He specifically thanked Sergeant Kari Tomlin and Office Manager Stephanie Warren for taking care of Axel when Kowalski and his family went on vacations.
“K-9 Axel was able to touch so many lives in the community through his 11 years of service,” the post reads.

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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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