K9 Buster – University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Died – 11/29/20
Handler – Officer Darrell Johnson

Whether sniffing around at community events or energetically making his rounds at UNLV Police Services, Buster, the department’s beloved police dog, knew how to win people over. Customarily, the 8-year-old springer spaniel would arrive at police headquarters, sprint into each office and “just greet everybody,” lightening the mood, Lt. Paul Velez said Tuesday. His colleagues would immediately miss him after he left, Velez added. Buster died unexpectedly Sunday after suffering a seizure, said Velez, adding that even writing the death announcement for the UNLV community made him tear up. With Buster’s death, UNLV Police was left without a K-9 officer, although the department is working to replace him. His cuteness and playful charm belied the gravity of Buster’s job responsibilities: He specialized in detecting explosives. He and his handler, Officer Darrell Johnson, would sweep large UNLV events, such as football or basketball games at Sam Boyd Stadium or the Thomas & Mack Center. Buster excelled at it but was an even better “ambassador” representing school police at community events, Velez said. “He was just so energetic and full of life … so attentive and friendly to everybody.” Buster, born in Ireland, came to Las Vegas in 2013 to join the department when he was a year old. He logged about 300 hours of training with Metro Police to detect explosives. UNLV credits buster with safeguarding more than 3,000 events, helping protect crowds throughout the valley, including gatherings at other colleges. He was “such a great dog,” Velez said. “It’s just a blow to the department.”

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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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