K9 Dax Named Finalist for Hero Dog National Title

LAKE COUNTY , IL — Lake County’s K9 Dax has made it to the final round of voting for 2019's American Humane Hero Dog Award. Dax qualified for the national competition thanks to online votes, and the sheriff’s office is now asking the public to vote again for Dax in the national competition.

You can vote up to once a day through July 18 at http://herodogawards.org/dog/dax-2019, according to a news release.

Dax began his career as a K9 with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office nearly four years ago, authorities said. He has helped track and successfully apprehend over 70 suspects and also located dozens of missing or endangered children and adults.

In addition, police say Dax has been used for over 100 narcotic searches, resulting in over 17 kilos of cocaine, heroin and other narcotics, hundreds of pounds of cannabis, almost $750,000 in cash, dozens of firearms, and even vehicles seized, according to authorities.

“It would be hard to find someone in Lake County who doesn’t know of the great work performed by our Canine Teams, especially K9 Dax and Deputy John Forlenza,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said. “They are one of the most beloved K9 Teams around because of their incredible work ethic and desire to serve the community. K9 Dax and John have located numerous missing endangered people, countless suspects fleeing from crime scenes, and large amounts of contraband. Even if they don’t come out victorious in this voting competition, they are certainly heroes in Lake County.”