K9 Bear – Casper, Wyoming

Died – 5/15/17
1st Handler – Lt. Shane Chaney
2nd Handler – Detective Shannon Daley

Retired Casper Police Dog Passes Away

A police dog who served with the Casper Police Department for nearly a decade before retiring in 2015 passed away Monday morning. K9 Bear started with the department in 2006. He was first handled by Lt. Shane Chaney. Detective Shannon Daley became Bear’s handler in 2007, and the two remained partners until 2015. Bear was deployed at least 763 times over the course of his career, according to a statement from the Casper Police Department. On Dec. 13, 2011, Bear sniffed out 227 pounds of marijuana. Bear helped a number of law enforcement agencies including the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office, Evansville Police Department, Mills Police Department, Wyoming Highway Patrol, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, Wyoming Probation and Parole, a number of federal agencies and the Natrona County School District.

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.