El Dorado County Says Goodbye to Retired K9 Bak
PLACERVILLE, Calif. — El Dorado County is mourning the loss of a law enforcement veteran whose career was spent alongside deputies on some of the county’s most demanding calls.
Retired El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office K9 Bak died peacefully at his home Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, after a battle with aggressive lymphatic cancer, the Sheriff’s Office announced.
Bak retired from the Sheriff’s Office in 2020 following the promotion of his longtime partner, Sgt. Hamon. But retirement did not end the bond between the dog, his handler and the community he had served.
The Sheriff’s Office described Bak as a beloved member of the agency and said his final months were made possible in part through an extraordinary show of community support.
A career of service
Bak served with Hamon in the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office patrol division from 2016 through 2019, according to a 2025 fundraising campaign established to help pay for his cancer treatment.
During his law enforcement career, Bak was certified in obedience, tracking, apprehension and narcotics detection. He also was certified as a SKIDDS — SWAT K9 and Interacting During Deployment School — canine and participated in tactical training alongside his handler.
The fundraising campaign said Bak was deployed hundreds of times and was responsible for more than 100 apprehensions.
His work extended beyond arrests and criminal investigations. Bak and Hamon also participated in community demonstrations and school events, giving residents an opportunity to see the Sheriff’s Office canine program up close.
The Sheriff’s Office currently describes its K9 unit as one of its elite operational units. The agency’s patrol canine teams assist with area and building searches, tracking, suspect apprehension, handler protection and detection work.
Historical Sheriff’s Office material also documented Bak and Hamon’s work as a patrol and SWAT team, including narcotics detection and community demonstrations.
Community rallied when Bak was diagnosed with cancer
In April 2025, Bak was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The cancer diagnosis prompted an outpouring of support from people across the county. A GoFundMe campaign organized on Bak’s behalf said his treatment and supportive care were expected to cost between $14,000 and $16,000. The campaign also said that donations exceeding Bak’s medical expenses would be directed toward supporting other working K9s in El Dorado County.
That support helped Bak undergo six months of intravenous chemotherapy.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the treatment extended his life and gave him additional time to enjoy the simple things that came with retirement — walks, time with his family and what the agency described as “escapades at the baseball fields.”
For a dog whose working life was defined by searches, apprehensions and the demands of police work, retirement offered a different kind of reward.
Remembering a K9 beyond the badge
Police K9s occupy an unusual place in law enforcement. They are working partners, but they also become familiar faces to the communities they serve.
El Dorado County’s canine program has long incorporated public demonstrations and school appearances into its work, allowing residents — particularly children — to see the dogs outside the intensity of an active law enforcement deployment. The Sheriff’s Office says its K9 teams are available around the clock when needed.
Bak’s career reflected that dual role.
He was trained to locate suspects and evidence, assist deputies during dangerous operations and detect narcotics. Yet those who knew him also remembered the dog behind the badge — a K9 who could move from the seriousness of police work to the ordinary pleasures of a walk or a game of ball.
The Sheriff’s Office announced his death with a simple expression of the loss:
“It is with great sadness that the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office announces the passing of our beloved retired K9 Bak.”
That loss will be felt not only by his former colleagues but also by the community members who supported him during his final fight.
Bak’s law enforcement career ended in 2020. His service, however, remains part of the history of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office — and his final chapter demonstrated something different but equally powerful: the willingness of a community to stand behind one of its retired public servants when he needed help.
For Bak, that support bought more time.
More walks.
More baseball fields.
More days with the people he loved.
And now, after a long career of service and a courageous fight against cancer, the retired K9 is at rest.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office has invited the public to see additional information about Bak in the comments accompanying its announcement.
