FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Fresno PD’s K9 Unit is suffering the loss of one of its police dogs.
K9 Axel was born in Czechoslovakia in 2013. He began his career with the Fresno Police Department in 2017, assigned to Officer Brian Sturgeon.
The Belgian Malinois was cross-trained as a narcotic detection dog but also participated in numerous K9 presentations at schools and universities around the Valley, teaching about the life of a law enforcement dog.
Most recently the pair competed in the Bakersfield K9 Trial receiving a 1st in “area searches” and an overall 5th place.
Axel was a well decorated dog in his novice trails, as well.
On the morning July 25th, K9 Axel was found deceased from a natural phenomenon called torsion -a twisting of the stomach.
The Fresno Police Department’s K9 unit now hopes to raise enough money to replace K9 Axel, K9 Faris and K9 Cash.
They will be launching a fundraising campaign on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
Click to hear the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
