Service Dog Officer Luna Dies, OCSD Mourns Her Loss

LAKE FOREST, CA — The Orange County Sheriff's Department announced the passing of 14-year-old Belgian Malinois, Luna, who passed away at the end of March.

"Luna was born in the Netherlands in January, 2005," they said. "She joined the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in 2009 and received her first assignment as a narcotics detection canine."

Now-retired reserve Deputy Doug Williams was Luna's first assigned handler.

The two worked patrol for several years until Deputy Williams was transferred in 2012 to the OCSD Mounted Unit. In January 2013, Deputy Jones was selected as Luna’s new handler and the pair was assigned to the Theo Lacy Facility to conduct narcotic sniffs inside the jail. In addition, the team would assist patrol, probation and other partner agencies with narcotic sniffs and search warrants.

It was with Jones that Luna honed her skills as a PSD.

Deputy Jones and Luna were deployed more than 400 times to search for narcotics. The pair also starred in many public demonstrations, in which Luna showed off her ability to quickly locate narcotics odor.

In August 2015, Deputy Jones was transferred to patrol in the City of Lake Forest and Luna was retired from service.

PSD Luna enjoyed her retirement with Deputy Jones and his family by taking daily walks, showing off for family and friends and playing fetch at the park.

"Luna will be missed and remembered by her partner, Deputy Jones, his family and the men and women of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department who had the honor of working with her," the department spokesperson said.