K9 Honor – Benton, Arkansas

Died – 6/16/16
Handler – Officer Steven Beck

Benton Police Department mourn the loss of K-9 officer

It is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of our beloved K-9 Honor yesterday afternoon at the age of eight. Honor was found deceased in his kennel at approximately 3 p.m. by members of the Benton Police Department’s K-9 team, who were providing care for Honor while his handler is out of state. Honor was undergoing continued treatment for heartworms, however the exact cause of death is not currently known at this time. While no foul play is suspected, Honor was transported to the Arkansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Little Rock for a necropsy and further investigation into the cause of his death. Honor was a Belgian Malinois who served the City of Benton for over six years, with his current assignment being in the patrol division with his handler. He was a dual purpose police service dog trained in both patrol work and narcotics detection, and he worked especially hard at protecting his community and his handler. Honor and Officer Beck were responsible for many high profile arrests, and their teamwork led to the seizure of thousands of dollars’ worth of illicit narcotics and contraband. In addition to their patrol duties, Officer Beck and K-9 Honor spent many hours visiting local schools and community functions helping to educate children about all the important jobs that police dogs perform to help protect their communities. His death came as a shock to all involved and has been especially hard on Officer Beck and his family, as well as our K-9 Unit as a whole. Honor will be missed by all of us, especially those who worked alongside him.

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.