K9 Nero – Fayetteville, North Carolina

Handler – Sgt. Burton

Fayetteville Police K-9 Nero has died; remembered as a ‘true fighter’ after battle with cancer

An eight-year veteran retired K-9 for the Fayetteville Police Department has died after battling cancer for more than a year.K-9 Nero responded to more than 2,000 calls, completed over 361 successful tracks, and had 76 criminal apprehensions, officers with the department said Wednesday. He also participated in more than 300 demonstrations. Nero retired with his handler, Sgt. Burton, in May 2020. Nero enjoyed a delicious steak and doughnut dog cookies, police said. “He was a true fighter! As his condition worsened, his handler had to make the hardest decision of all: saying ‘see you later,’” the department said in a news release. He was surrounded by loving friends with Burton was by his side.

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.