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Died – 8/3/20
The ATF, Project K-9 Hero and working dog community are mourning the loss of one of their own, SRT K9 Axel. Axel passed away surrounded by family on August 3, 2020 after a heroic battle against cancer. He saved countless lives during his career with the ATF, and served as an ambassor for Project K-9 Hero in his retirement. K9 Axel was born March 30, 2009. He attended a specialized one on one training course to become an ATF Tactical K-9 at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. K-9 Axel certified annually as a Patrol K-9 through the North American Police Work Dog Association. K9 Axel conducted over 200 high-risk operations in his career all over the United States, leading to the apprehension or surrendering of countless violent criminals. At the young age of only a year old, Axel was hand selected by the ATF Special Response Team (SRT) to become their newest Tactical K-9 in 2010. There are only five active ATF SRT K-9’s in the world, and Axel was one of them throughout his career. Axel specialized in conducting search warrants and missions to locate and apprehend the nation’s most wanted and dangerous criminals. Axel was certified and remained proficient in Patrol, Tracking, Article Searches, Building Searches, Area Searches and Tactical Obedience. Axel routinely performed fast roping from helicopters, rappelling from towers and buildings, water insertions, rural tracking, and urban operations with some of the most elite police and military units in the world. Due to the high physical demand of his job Axel was forced to retire at the age of eight years old from the ATF as he was already physically beginning to slow down.When it came time for Axel to retire from his government service in April of 2017, his handler was unable to keep him, as he was getting a new one-year-old Malinois to replace Axel. Having two alpha male dogs in the house would be difficult to manage. After all, Axel was used to being with his handler 24/7, going to work with him, as well as going on vacations with his family. Therefore, Axel needed a new home for his retirement so the handler could bond with his new partner. When the Project K-9 Hero Foundation got the call to help support him, they jumped at the opportunity. Even though Axel was born and bred to be a K-9 Hero, he needed a home to live in after he had given so much of his life to our nation. Axel no longer had funding from his agency to take care of his medical bills or food. However, the Project K9 Hero Foundation vowed they would cover those costs for Axel and ensure that he received the best care possible in a loving home for the rest of his life. Axel spent a wonderful retirement with Project K-9 Hero founder, Jason Johnson and Amanda. He was an ambassor for all working dogs and even assisted companies like NASCAR , Nine Line Apparel and Rex Specs. He saved countless lives during his career, and touched thousands of lives in retirement. Rest Easy Axel. We will never forget you.
