K9 Bane – St Francis, Wisconsin

Died 5/9/24
Handler – Officer Holly McManus

St. Francis Police K9 Bane passes away after battle with cancer

K9 Bane, the first police dog in St Francis, ended his watch Thursday after his 709 day battle with Degenerative Myolopathy, a condition comparable to ALS in humans.On Bane’s Facebook account, his handler Holly McManus shared that doctors a tumor had likely developed on Bane’s spleen, leaking fluid into his belly:“Thank you for following us on this journey, thank you for being this guy’s biggest supporter, helping provide for his medical bills, and taking care of both of us. We couldn’t have done it without you guys” said McManus.Bane was honored with a Distinguished Service Medal for his accomplishments in March.Bane retired from the St. Francis Police force after 7 years of service. A bronze statue was erected in his honor.

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.