Police K9 Blade Shot While on Duty:

Lake County Police K9 Blade is a 6 year old German Shepherd who was recently shot in the line of duty. Blade was shot in the face while attempting to apprehend a suspect. Blade was able to divert the suspect’s attention away from his partner and ultimately took one bullet to the face to save his partners life. K9 Blade was rushed to a local veterinary clinic where he was stabilized before being driven to another vet that specializes in traumatic injuries.  Blade was hospitalized for several days and underwent 2 surgeries to repair the damage he suffered to his jaw. The bullet grazed Blade’s upper lip shattering his upper molars and then entered into his lower jaw, shattering his lower jaw bone and teeth. Shrapnel also embedded itself into his neck and throat. While Blade’s surgeries were a success in that he is back home resting with his handler and family; the damage caused by the bullet was too extensive for Blade to be able to return to active duty.  At some point, in the near future, Blade will go see another vet who specializes in dentistry. Blade will possibly undergo another surgery to fix and implant fake teeth. The cost of this surgery is unknown at this time.

While the Lake County Sheriff’s Dept is currently covering all veterinarian related expenses Blade suffered during this incident, once Blade has to officially retire, the Lake County K9 Association will take over the responsibility of veterinarian care for Blade for the rest of his life. The Lake County K9 Association is seeking donations for 2 purposes. The first purpose of the fundraiser will be to cover any vet expenses Blade may incur in the future, from this incident and others. The second reason for the benefit is Blade’s handler still has a passion for working a K9. While he is devastated Blade will no longer be able to work the streets; he also understands what is best for Blade and that it is no longer safe for Blade to work the road with the damage to his mouth. The average cost of a fully trained police K9 is $10,000-$15,000. The goal is to raise as much of this as we can, as fast as we can, so when Blade’s partner returns to work he can return with a new partner who will have his “six” much like Blade. Blade, his handler, the Lake County K9 Association, Lake County K9 Unit and the Lake County Sheriff’s Dept thank each and every one of you for taking time to read Blade’s story and thank you for helping us reach our goal.

The Lake County K9 Association is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, which is made up of active members of the Lake County K9 Unit. All funds raised will go to the Lake County K9 Association and be used to help take care of Blade and to purchase a new police K9. Any monies donated over our goal will stay with the Lake County K9 Association which provides training equipment and work equipment to the Lake County K9 Unit and is also responsible for maintenance and care of retired Lake County K9’s.