Dano (Retired K9) 

Dano was born in Slovakia on June 28, 2012 and began his training to become a Police K9 shortly after. In 2013, he flew to the United States to the Top Dogs Police K-9 Academy in Evansville, Indiana where he would finish his training to be a dual purpose dog. This would mean Dano would be capable of performing patrol tactics such as suspect apprehension, tracking, evidence recovery, as well as the detection of illegal drug substances.

In the Fall of 2013, Officer Doug Bierman of the Newton Police Department attended the Top Dogs Police K-9 Academy and became Dano’s first handler. The two graduated from the K-9 Academy in November of 2013. Immediately after, Dano began his career in serving the City of Newton as an official Officer of the Newton Police Department.

And already, Dano began to leave an impact on the community. With being the first K9 Unit in the City of Newton, both Officer Bierman and K9 Officer Dano began successfully combating illicit drugs and assisting in criminal matters not just for the City of Newton but also for Jasper County and other agencies. But Dano did more than just assist in the arrests of crimes.

In just one year on November 13, 2014, Dano and Officer Bierman conducted a track on a juvenile who had run away from home in below freezing temperatures. The two both successfully completed the track to find the juvenile, unresponsive, and with signs of onset hypothermia. The juvenile was rescued and was able to be assessed by ambulance personnel. With their combined efforts, Dano and Officer Bierman helped save the life of the juvenile and were recognized by the United States Police Canine Association Region 16 (an association Officer Bierman was a member of) for the Find of the 4th Quarter in March of 2015. Just for awareness, this region covered southern Illinois and part of eastern Missouri, housing many other members and K9 units of the association.

Together, Officer Bierman and Dano sacrificed their time and safety to keep the community safe. They also sacrificed their time in training. As mentioned before, Officer Bierman was a member of the United States Police Canine Association, or the USPCA. With that, Officer Bierman would train and prepare Dano (and himself) to attend the Regional Patrol Dog Trails with the goal to certify Dano through the USPCA. If Dano was able to pass and score high enough at the Regional Trials then he could attend the National K9 Trials. K9 Units from all over the Nation would attend these trials and would compete for the highest scores. Here is a list of the accomplishments of Officer Bierman and Dano during their time participating in the USPCA K9 trials.

●      In 2014 at the Region 16, Regional K-9 Trials in Springfield, IL, Dano placed in 1st place for Obedience.

●      In 2015 at the Region 16, Regional K-9 Trials in Charleston, IL, Dano placed 1st place in Obedience, 3rd place in Evidence Search, and 1st place for the Team Award.

●      Following the Regional Trials, the two attended the National K-9 Trails in Springfield, IL in 2015 where they placed 4th in Criminal Apprehension, 3rd in the Team Award, and 9th place Overall. Like mentioned before, K9 Units from all over the nation attended this trial.

●      In 2016 at the Region 16, Regional K-9 Trials in O’Fallon, Missouri, Dano placed 1st in the Evidence Search.

●      Officer Bierman and Dano lastly attended the 2016 National K-9 Trials in Gloucester Township, New Jersey, where Dano placed 16th place Overall.

Dano was beginning to be recognized as a well trained and capable K9 Officer. But in the fall of 2016, Officer Bierman left the Newton Police Department to pursue more in his career in Law Enforcement. As for Dano, he stayed with the Newton Police Department and had to switch handlers. Dano’s new partner became Officer Riley Britton. Once again, Dano had to attend the Top Dogs K-9 Academy in the fall of that same year in 2016. But this time, he helped train Officer Britton to be a handler. The two graduated together on November 23, 2016.

With that, the two returned to patrol and Dano continued to serve the community of Newton with his new handler Officer Britton. Together, they focused on drug interdiction and keeping the community safe. Dano was able to assist not just the Newton Police Department, but multiple other agencies in the successful finds of illegal substances as well as suspect apprehensions without ever having to resort to a bite. However in 2017, Dano met some retaliation. After dealing with a few difficult calls from the day before, Officer Britton went to retrieve Dano to begin an evening shift. Dano did not appear himself and was taken to the Effingham Veterinary Clinic. For 3 days, Dano stayed at the clinic, hooked up to IV’s and needing constant care. It was believed by staff the effects were from rat poison. And due to suspicious circumstances from the night before, it appeared someone purposely had given Dano the poison.

However, Dano recovered and he continued to work as hard as he always did. He also continued to attend the USPCA Trails with Officer Britton. Here are Dano’s accomplishments with Officer Britton during their time together.

●      In 2017 at the Region 16, Regional K-9 Trials in Columbia, IL, Dano placed 1st in the Evidence Search and 3rd Place Overall.

●      In 2018 at the Region 16, Regional K-9 Trials in Springfield, IL, Dano placed 1st in Obedience, 1st in Evidence Recovery, 1st in the Team Award, 2nd place in Apprehension, 2nd place in Apprehension with Gun Fire, 2nd place Overall Top Apprehension, 2nd place overall, and 3rd place overall top search.

●      Dano also was able to attend the 2018 USPCA National K-9 Trials in Huntsville, Alabama where he was able to compete against 84 other K9 units.

●      As for the remaining years, Dano did not attend the 2019 Regional Trials due to the birth of Officer Britton’s daughter in the same week and the COVID-19 shutdowns which halted the trials in 2020 and 2021. However, Dano was still able to certify with the USPCA in Charleston, IL.

Despite the incident in 2017, Dano remained as resilient and as dedicated to serving the community as he did when he began. Dano was even able to perform a few more rescues in his career, proving how a K9 can be used for more than just criminal matters. And after a long and successful career, Dano retired from the Newton Police Department in August of 2021.

For the remaining years of his life, Dano spent his time at the Britton home playing in the backyard with Officer Britton’s son and daughter, being spoiled by Officer Britton’s wife, going on adventures to the Embarrass River to explore the woods and sometimes taking a swim, going on walks, and riding in the back of Officer Britton’s truck for long, patrol-like drives. It wasn’t until March of 2026 that Dano was diagnosed with kidney disease. And with a short battle, Dano passed away on April 9, 2026. But prior to his passing, Dano got one last visit from his previous handler, Officer Bierman.

It is also worth mentioning that the day Dano passed away, the new K9 for Jasper County, Diesel of the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, certified to begin working drug detection in Illinois to begin where Dano left off.

Dano accomplished many things in his life, from his career as a Police K9, as a partner and attender of the USPCA K9 Trials, and as a member of both the Bierman and Britton family. Officer Britton wanted to give his thanks to first Officer Doug Bierman for being the one who pushed for a K9 Unit in the City of Newton. If it wasn’t for him, Officer Britton would have never got to experience working with Dano and having him be a member of his family. Officer Britton also wanted to thank the Newton Community and the citizens of Jasper County for supporting the K9 Unit, the Newton Police Department and the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office for having Dano’s back, the Newton Animal Health Clinic for their constant donations, the Newton Veterinary Clinic and Effingham Veterinary Clinic for the care they provided throughout his life, the instructors at the Top Dogs Police K-9 Academy, and all the agencies who helped train Officer Britton to be able to use Dano at his fullest potential including Casey Police Department, Charleston Police Department, Coles County Sheriff’s Office, Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, Effingham Police Department, the Illinois State Police, Mattoon Police Department, Moultrie County Sheriff’s Office, Robinson Police Department, and any others who he failed to mention.