K9 Bruin – Enfield, Connecticut

Died – 9/5/18
Handler – Officer Chris Dufresne

Beloved Enfield Police Dog Passes Away

A recently-retired police canine who served as a key member of the Enfield Police Department for more than five years has passed away. Officer Bruin, a German shepherd who joined the department with handler Officer Chris Dufresne in 2012, was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy in 2017, which caused an early retirement. As a team, Dufresne and Bruin were responsible for locating countless missing people, criminals, narcotics and pieces of evidence. They placed in the top five canine teams regionally in the U.S. Police Canine Association, and competed nationally as one of the top 50 canine teams throughout the country. A statement on the department’s Facebook page reads, “K9 Bruin Rest In Peace. Know that K9 Kodi, K9 Putnam and K9 Nova will continue the legacy that you and K9 Niko have left behind here at the Enfield Police Department K9 Unit.”

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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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