Died – 9/12/18
Handler – Officer Jim Bartley
Axe, longtime Bellevue K-9, dies two weeks after his last day on patrol
A former Bellevue Police Department K-9, Axe, died today. Axe served on the BPD K-9 Unit for more than five years. He retired Aug. 28. Axe’s handler and owner, Jim Bartley, said Axe was a great partner because he knew when it was work time, and also knew how to be friendly toward citizens. “I could bring him around people and they could pet him. He was a great community policing dog,” Bartley said. “And when he needed to go search a building or track a suspect he was very capable and loved his job.” Bartley said Axe was also a great dog at home. “I appreciated the fact that he was easy to manage during our time off,” he said. “He wasn’t spun up all of the time trying to get in to things he wasn’t supposed to. He relaxed on his days off and loved just laying around wherever I was.”