Uintah County has bid farewell to one of the county’s narcotics and patrol K-9 officers. “Jax, who recently turned 8-years-old, was recently diagnosed with a medical condition concerning his hips and any further patrol or narcotics training or work could cause him permanent disability,” shares Sheriff Vance Norton. “It was strongly recommended by Jax’s veterinarian to retire him and I feel I have a responsibility to not only Jax, but his handler to officially retire him to live with his family.” Jax is a German Shepherd from the Czech Republic. He has been with Sgt. Dustin Cheshire since August 2012 when the pair met for training in Indiana. The training “was by far the hardest thing I have ever attended in my law enforcement career,” shares Sgt. Cheshire. “When your partner has a mind of his own, you never know how things are going to go for the day. There were definitely both good and bad days, but looking back, it was one of my greatest accomplishments.” Sgt. Cheshire and Jax have had to recertify in narcotics detection and patrol work every year and “these two certifications kept them ready to deploy at a moment’s notice.” Sgt. Cheshire has said numerous times that “Jax isn’t just a police working dog; he has been my protector at work when situations were getting ready to go bad.” Jax will spend his retirement with the Cheshire family.
