K9 Bala – Bismarck, North Dakota

Died – 12/5/22
Handler – Sgt. Dan Salander

Bismarck remembers K9 Bala

K9 Bala, police dog and beloved member of the Bismarck Police force, passed away on Monday after a sudden medical issue. Bala began service with the Bismarck Police Department in 2015 and patrolled with Sgt. Dan Salander over the years. She had more than 2,000 hours of training and was deployed more than 1,500 times over the span of her career. She worked on drug detection cases, car stops, building searches, tracking cases, and searched for missing people.She won Iron Dog competitions, several awards, and garnered national attention and adoration as she competed in America’s Top Dog by A&E in 2019.“They become a major part of the department. A lot of the officers have stories of working with the K9s. Bala was always on top of her game, whether it was drug detection or obedience. [Bala and Sgt. Salander] were just a great team together and they had a lot of success over the years,” said Lt. Chad Fetzer, Bismarck Police Department. K9s are integrated into officer’s households too.Sgt. Salander’s wife Lacy Salander said Bala was much more than a working dog. She wrote, “K9 Bala (her name of which is Spanish for Bullet), Belgian Malinois, served so bravely and proudly the citizens of Bismarck, ND . . . She was greatly loved by all.” Bala’s companions at the Bismarck Police Department include K9 Mesa, K9 Titan, and K9 Echo.

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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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