K9 Roxi – Westbook, Maine

Retired Westbrook Police K-9 passes away

A retired Maine K9 from the Westbrook Police department has passed away. According to the Facebook post, 12-year-old Roxie died over the past weekend.Roxie was born in the Czech Republic and paired with officer Phil Robinson of the Westbrook Police Department.She served the department from 2012 to 2018 and trained with the working dogs of Maine and the Maine State Police.During her service time, Roxie received two life-saving awards. One was for when she found a woman that was actively trying to take her life, the other was when she located an elderly dementia patient who wandered away in the woods on a 90-degree day.Roxie was also awarded numerous times for playing a significant part in drug seizures.Over the last four years, Roxie enjoyed retirement by just being a dog with officer Robinson’s family.

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.