Police in Orange County Mourn Life of Beloved K-9

Police in Orange County are mourning and remembering the life of their beloved K-9 Jake.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Jake was a loyal partner of Sergeant Dustin Palen and served Orange County for 11 years.

Jake was born in Slovakia on in 2004. A year later he was assigned to then Deputy Sheriff Dustin Palen. Jake was trained and put into service as an explosive detection and patrol K-9.

Officials say Jake answered the call for service countless times throughout his career and assisted with the apprehension of burglary suspects, recovery of numerous handguns along with calls for suspicious packages and bomb threats.

In his first call of service the dog recovered a loaded handgun used in the commission of a crime.

Jake also participated in hundreds of public demonstrations throughout his career and was a popular ambassador for the Sheriff’s Office.

Jake and Sgt. Palen received certification in patrol dog, tracking and explosive detection through the United States Police Canine Association in each of his first 8 years of service. Sgt. Palen and K-9 Jake placed 9th in the nation in 2008 and 5th place overall in the nation in 2010 for Explosive Detection.

Jake suffered from an aggressive form of cancer and experienced a rapid decline in his health.

“The Orange County Sheriff’s Office would like to extend our deepest condolences to Sgt. Dustin Palen and his family on the loss of a partner, friend and family member,” Captain Scott K. Hamill, Public Information Officer state. “Thank you Jake for your dedicated service to the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the citizens of the County of Orange and the State of New York.”