Lake County Sheriff K-9 Dax and Deputy John Forlenza will appear Wednesday evening on the season premiere of ‘America’s Top Dog,’ a new national TV series.
The A&E Network series brings together top police and civilian dogs alongside their handlers as they compete nose-to-nose on the ultimate canine obstacle course.
In each episode, four police canine teams and one civilian team will face off for the title of “Top Dog” in three competitive rounds, A&E said.
“The first season of the show will be several episodes. We aren’t able to say how many episodes K9 Dax and Deputy Forlenza will appear in, but viewers will be able to see for themselves,” Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli.
“America’s Top Dog” premieres on A&E Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m., and Deputy Forlenza and K-9 Dax will be featured in it, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.
Filming for the show took place in June and each week’s winning team will receive $10,000, along with an additional $5,000 to donate to the animal charity of their choice.
In the final week of competition, top competitors will return to the finale course for the title of “America’s Top Dog” and an additional $25,000 cash prize, A&E said.
The show is hosted by Curt Menefee, an award-winning veteran studio and game broadcaster who currently co-hosts “Fox NFL Sunday” in addition to wrap-up show “The OT.”
Alongside Menefee is expert trainer Nick White, a former U.S. Marine and former member of the Secret Service with years of experience working with canines, A&E said.
“It’s a tremendous honor for one of our canine teams to be asked to participate in a national competition such as this. We are very fortunate to have four terrific canine teams at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Our canine teams teams work hard to keep the Lake County Community safe,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said.