Lake County sheriff's dog Dax and his partner appear on 'Today,' dog hero awards show

Lake County sheriff's office dog Dax stepped into the national spotlight with a live appearance Monday morning on NBC's "Today" show.

Dax and his partner, Deputy John Forlenza, were invited on the set of "Today with Hoda & Jenna" (Maria Shriver filled in for Jenna) to discuss the American Humane Hero Dog Awards Gala, which aired Monday night on the Hallmark Channel.

Dax and Forlenza were at the gala, which was recorded earlier this month, as Hero Dog finalists. The overall 2019 American Hero Dog winner was Alice, a service dog from Kentucky who is trained to alert her owner about oncoming seizures.

Dax and Forlenza won the American Humane Hero Dog law-enforcement category over several other police dog candidates from across the nation through a public voting campaign. They have been responsible for locating dozens of missing endangered people, fleeing felons, missing children, seizing kilos of illegal narcotics, and much more.

"Dax and Deputy Forlenza have an amazing bond," Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said Monday. "Because of their partnership, hard training, working together every day, and being focused on public safety, they've made a remarkable name for themselves in Lake County and beyond."