Blue Lake Rancheria OES Resiliency Training and Innovation Center

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our EPD K9 Vex. Vex passed on November 7th, 2020 with his loving family by his side. On behalf of all... of us at the Eureka Police Department, thank you to the La France Family and thank you Vex for your dedicated service and commitment to keeping Eureka safer! Vex will always have a very special place in many hearts. Vex Loups du Soleil Breed: Belgian Malinois Life: March 21, 2008 November 7, 2020 Years of Service: August 2010 April 2019 The definition of a working dog is a dog of suitable breed or training kept for its practical use, rather than as a pet or for showing. The Belgian Malinois have a great deal of stamina and truly enjoy working. They are intelligent and very active dogs that excel at many tasks. Patrol K9s are used to locate and assist in the apprehension of serious and violent criminal offenders. With his handler, Sgt. La France, Vex served the Eureka Police Department as a Patrol K9 from August 2010 to April 2019. He was deployed 754 times and assisted in the arrest of 146 suspects, 94% of which chose to surrender with just the sight of Vex. Vex was not only a force multiplier but also an expert in de-escalation. During his years of service, he showed a strength of character and continued working despite falling through a ceiling, being violently assaulted, and being injured on other occasions. Larger than life, Vex always made his presence known whether he was searching for a suspect or if someone simply walked by his car. While working, Vex didn’t need commands. Once he was placed on leash, he knew his job and knew it well. When he was needed to search, he knew to move towards odor. When needed to cover a suspect being taken into custody, he was relentless, laser focused and deafening. When searching, he led from the front. When in the back of the patrol car, he watched officers’ six. If a violent suspect needed to be captured, he was always willing and capable. The bond between handler and K9 is like no other. This was very true for Sgt. La France and Vex. They spent endless hours on walks and training together. Vex often vacationed with his family as well and spent adventures in downtown San Francisco and Phoenix, AZ. Each daily event with was teamwork and Sgt. La France and Vex could read each other. Vex appeared to tell when his handler's pulse and heart rate elevated, he knew when a priority call was coming in, and his handler could tell a suspect was near based on Vex’s leash pressure, the position of Vex’s ears, eyes, and nose. Even with his intensity and controlled ferocity, Vex had a soft side; he provided emotional support to his handler during emotionally draining calls. At times, when Sgt. La France returned to his patrol car, holding back tears, Vex would extend his muzzle through his patrol car’s cage. Vex was a good listener as many one-sided conversations were had within their patrol car. Memories of Vex are not only scattered across the City of Eureka, but throughout almost all parts of Humboldt County. Vex was loved by his family, respected by those he worked with, and feared by those who desired to harm members of our community. Vex, you will be missed by most! Thank you for your service. Rest easy.

"The Watch will last through Friday morning with periods of critical fire weather conditions expected across exposed ridges, according to Humboldt County’s Office of Emergency Services."

We were just informed that our total collection number stands at 39 pints after four people went to other collection locations and creidted our effort. That is amazing, we thank every one of you for coming out!

Thank you to everyone who came out to our blood drive today. There was such an overwhelming turnout that the bloodmobile stayed two hours later than they planned and had to ask some people to go to a different bloodmobile due to the long wait. And an extra thank you to those who did wait a long time to donate! With your help, we collected 35 pints of blood at our location.

We are hosting this blood drive today in response for the critical need by the NCCBB of type O blood. We will be offering grilled burgers for those who donate 11am-1pm.