K9 Nemo – Fort Wayne, Indiana


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Died – 3/29/18
Handler – Officer Dustin Engelman

Fort Wayne police dog Nemo dies with partner at his side

It is with deep regret that I must inform you all of the death of Fort Wayne Police K9 Nemo, Retired. K9 Nemo died yesterday evening with his partner, Officer Dustin Engelman, by his side. K9 Nemo turned 14 years of age on March 12th, 2018. Nemo’s health had declined significantly in the last few months as a result of age related disease. K9 Nemo joined the ranks of the Fort Wayne Police K9 Unit October 21, 2005. He retired from active service after a very eventful career on November 01, 2014. K9 Nemo spent his retirement enjoying time with his family. Nemo also enjoyed tormenting Dustin by eating the vegetables from and then destroying the gardens that Dustin had spent so much time and effort in growing. Actually, I’m not so sure that Dustin ever got to enjoy any of the fruits of his labors. I had the privileged of watching Dustin and Nemo grow together as a team from their beginning together It was sometimes a rocky relationship in the early days. Until one day when Dustin finally succumbed to the reality that the best way to be successful as a team was to allow Nemo to do the job his own way. Dustin and Nemo had a great career together locating and catching bad guys as well as finding a lot of drugs. K9 Nemo was a great asset to the City of Fort Wayne and he was a wonderful partner for Officer Engelman. He will be missed by his family and the people that knew him. K9 Nemo is now at peace and pain free. Until we meet again, rest in peace Nemo. Your job here is done.

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.