K9 Smoke – Derry, Pennsylvania

Derry Borough K-9 euthanized

Derry Borough’s police K-9, Smoke, had to be euthanized last week after an off-duty incident led to “extensive injuries” for the police dog, according to the borough’s mayor. The recommendation to euthanize the K-9 came from a treating veterinarian to relieve Smoke’s suffering, Mayor Grant Nicely said in a statement on Facebook. “Borough council, police department and myself are exploring avenues to continue the K-9 program at some point in the future,” Nicely said in the statement. The borough has been tight-lipped on the details surrounding the incident that led to the injuries. The Bulletin spoke to Nicely, who oversees the police department in his role as mayor. Nicely directed further questions to Borough Council President Sara Cowan. He added that the Facebook statement was the only information cleared by the borough’s solicitor. The Bulletin left a voicemail with Cowan but did not hear back prior to publication. The matter was not discussed Tuesday evening during council’s work session meeting.Smoke, a 4-year-old Malinois, was purchased back in 2020 from Amsterdam. Part of his purchase and training was paid for by donations to the borough. He was certified in narcotics detection and assisting police operations. Police Chief Randy Glick was Smoke’s handler.Smoke replaced the department’s former K-9, Blade, who served with the department for more than a decade before retiring.

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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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