Paws on patrol: K-9 Dax hits the streets with Lee County Sheriff’s Office

DIXON — The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is getting help from a new four-legged friend in its fight against crime.

Dax, a purebred Belgian Malinois, is the Lee County Sheriff’s Office’s newest K-9 officer. He took his first “paw patrol” Sunday, April 6, with his partner, Deputy Justin Hart of Amboy. The pair recently completed six weeks of training at the F.M. K-9 training center in Berrien Center, Michigan, which included basic obedience commands, narcotics detection and patrol skills.

“We get them for about a week or two before we go to training to get acclimated to each other, start to feed them, just so the dogs can start to realize who dad is, and put a face to it,” Hart said. “He’s dual-purpose and will work in narcotics detection and patrol. The patrol side entails stuff such as tracking suspects using a piece of their clothing.”

Hart has been with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for nearly three years and comes from a proud line of family law enforcement.

“I can’t see myself doing anything else at this point, especially growing up in the community,” Hart said. “Being in law enforcement where you grew up has its challenges but it’s also an awesome experience. I feel like it’s something that you can give back to the community that you grew up in, that kind of molded me to where I am today.”

Dax lives with Hart, and when the two are not working they run, train and relax together.

“I’ll do some training on my days off, just something to always keep him active,” Hart said. “That’s when he’s happiest, when he’s out with dad, running or training or up here doing something. So it’s a lot of time spent with him, but I love that guy to death.”