K9 Herc – Buffalo, New York

Handler – Officer Mary Ellen Sawicki

Herc, retired Buffalo police dog, dies

Herc, a retired Buffalo police dog, has died. Herc, a German shepherd, died after a brief battle with cancer, the Buffalo Police Department said on Wednesday. He retired at the end of 2014 when his handler, Police Officer Mary Ellen Sawicki, also retired. “We would like to extend our condolences to the Sawicki family,” the department said. Herc began his service on Dec. 7, 2007, and during his career carried out 4,365 searches of homes, vehicles and school lockers. He was brought to the United States from the Czech Republic with his brother to be pets. But the family who owned him ended up finding the dog to be a little hard to handle. A retired Amherst K-9 officer and a boarding kennel owners came across him and thought he’d be a good fit for the force. Sawicki retired after 34 1/2 years as a Buffalo officer.

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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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