K9 Pito – Vernon, Connecticut

Died – 7/16/17
Handler – Officer Danny Macaulay

In July 2017, Retired Vernon K9 Officer “Pito” lost his short battle with cancer. K9 Pito served the Vernon Police Department from December 2006 until his retirement in March of 2014 due to health reasons. K9 Pito was partnered with Officer Dan Macaulay in 2009 after being partnered with a different officer before that. Over K9 Pito’s long career, he has been involved in many narcotics and criminal investigations. In November 2009, Officer Macaulay and Pito tracked and located a suspect in a domestic violence incident in Vernon. The suspect had a length violent criminal history.
In July of 2010, Officer Macaulay and Pito assisted East Hartford PD with a search warrant. They located a large amount of money wrapped in plastic and over 50 pounds of marijuana that might not have ever been found if not for Pito. Also in July of 2010, Officer Macaulay and Pito responded to a residential burglary in progress in Vernon. Officer Macaulay and Pito tracked the suspect for over an hour through heavily wooded terrain and located the suspect. These are only a few examples of the great team Officer Macaulay and Pito were together. There were many other accomplishments. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in our regular training days and the seminars the CPWDA offered. There are many dedicated handlers and trainers that made Officer Macaulay and Pito a great success. Too many to list. K9 Pito will be missed by many who had the chance to work with him.

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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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