A Lake County Sheriff's Office dog named Lux placed second overall at a national police canine competition, winning multiple individual events along the way.

Deputy John Forlenza and K9 Lux finished second in the Patrol Dog competition at the United States Police Canine Association's (USPCA) 2026 National Patrol Dog Field Trials in Abilene, Texas, the Lake County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday, Sept. 29. The Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement services across Lake County, including in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.

The trials ran Sept. 20 through Sept. 25 and were hosted by the Abilene Police Department. The USPCA, established in 1971, runs certification and competition programs for police service dogs and their handlers.

Lux won three individual events. The K9 took first place in criminal apprehension and criminal apprehension with gunfire, tied for first in the evidence search event and finished fifth in obedience.

A second Lake County team, Deputy Kevin Harris and K9 Zeus, placed 14th overall in the national Patrol Dog field. Zeus earned fourth place in obedience and received a Certificate of Excellence.

The USPCA trials test police canine teams through scored events that mirror real-world law enforcement work, including obedience, evidence searches, suspect searches and apprehension under gunfire.

"Competing at the national level is a significant accomplishment in itself, and Deputy Forlenza/K9 Lux and Deputy Harris/K9 Zeus represented the Lake County Sheriff's Office extremely well. … These results reflect the dedication and countless hours of training our handlers and K9s put in every day," Sheriff John Idleburg said in the announcement.

Both teams earned their spots at nationals after strong showings at the USPCA Region 5 trials earlier in 2026 in Evansville, Indiana. Twenty-six canine teams from Illinois, Indiana and Ohio competed at that regional event, hosted by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office. Forlenza and Lux won first place overall in Patrol Dog at regionals, capturing first-place finishes in obedience, evidence search, suspect search, criminal apprehension and criminal apprehension with gunfire. Harris and Zeus finished second overall at regionals.

Both Lake County K9 teams hold certifications in Patrol Dog 1, cadaver detection, narcotics detection and tracking.

When the teams qualified for nationals in June, Idleburg described the K9 unit's broader role in the county. "Every day, our canine teams make a tremendous impact throughout Lake County, from helping protect children and other vulnerable victims, to keeping community events safe through explosive detection, locating missing and endangered people, and apprehending dangerous offenders," Idleburg said at the time.

Lake Forest also recently revived its own police K9 program, as we reported Sept. 29.