K9 Dark – Northern Regional Police, Pennsylvania

Died – 3/14/18
Handler – Officer Michael Dorsch

Northern Regional Police’s first K9 officer dies

Members of the Northern Regional Police Department are mourning the passing of their very first K9 officer, Dark, on March 14. Dark came with his handler, Michael Dorsch, when he joined the department from the Carnegie Borough Police Department in 2007. Once partnered up, K9s stay with their officers throughout their career. Trained in patrol and narcotic detection, Dark was responsible for dozens of arrests and seizures throughout Allegheny County. Dorsch and Dark were partners for close to nine years before Dark retired in September 2014 and enjoyed the remainder of his life as the Dorsch family’s pet. The German Shepherd, who came from Hungary, would have been 14 years old in April.

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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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