K9 Neiko – Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey


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Died 7/21/23
Handler – Officer Robert Shepherd

Loss Of Beloved K9 Neiko Mourned By Egg Harbor Township Police

“It is with heavy heart that we report the passing of Egg Harbor Township Police K9 Neiko,” the department announced on Friday, July 21.Neiko was a Belgian Shepherd that started his service with the Township in May 2014, after graduating from the John “Sonny” Burke K9 Patrol Academy. “It was not in the line of duty. He had a lot of health problems,” Lt. Brian Keane, a police department spokesman, told Daily Voice. Neiko was trained in criminal apprehension, tracking, handler protection, and was also dual trained for narcotics detection, police said.”K9 Neiko was deployed and assisted in countless calls for service in Egg Harbor Township and throughout Atlantic County supporting the surrounding jurisdictions,” police wrote in the post. Neiko also participated in many school and public demonstrations throughout his 9-year career. Neiko and his partner, Officer Robert Sheppard, would like to thank everyone for their support over the years, the post said.”Officer Sheppard and his partner were honored to serve our great community over the past 9 years. We all mourn this very sad loss of one of our own, our EHTPD 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.