K9 Benny – Jackson County, Kansas

Handler – Sgt. Travis DeBarge

Jackson Co. Sheriff’s K-9 dies suddenly

It has been a sad day at the sheriff’s office today. Benny, one of our police service dogs succumbed to a recent and sudden illness. Benny was a massive beautiful German Shepherd who loved to work every day. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body. He and his handler, Sgt. Travis DeBarge were a great team who together captured a lot of bad guys. So our sympathies go out to Sgt. DeBarge and his family who were all attached to Benny. Benny will be very hard to replace, but we were all thankful to get to work with him on numerous occasions. My dad always says he will get to see his dog someday in heaven. I would like to think we too will see Big Benny again someday.

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.