Photo: WINK News. The bond between a police officer and a K-9 animal is something special. Countless hours of training go in to making sure the two are able to protect not only their community but each other on the job. Cape Coral Police Officer Stephen Scrobe is an animal person. “I’ve had dogs my whole life, so I mean it’s just awesome to be able to take one home that I work with,” he said. He says working with his four-legged partner, Carbon, is the best part of his job. But working with an animal isn’t always fun and games. “The type of work we get to do and the type of calls we get to go on are usually more serious in nature,” he said. Some of that work includes sniffing out drugs and chasing down criminals, and it takes a lot of work to make sure they are at the top of their game. “We’re very proud of the work we put into our dogs. Any chance we can get to show that off, we’re more than happy to do it.” And that’s why Scrobe organized the department’s first ever K-9 competition. He used his love of animals to raise money for charities, including the new no-kill animal shelter that’s coming soon to Cape Coral. “It kind of gave us a driving cause to make it a success and build it as best we could,” he said. K-9 units from all over the state came to compete and thousands came out to watch. The competition raised $16,000 and Scrobe is already planning next year’s event, where they hope to raise even more money. In the meantime, they continue to crack down on crime. MORE: Captain Christopher Reeves wins ‘Officer of the Year’ award The “Officer of the Year” will be announced this Saturday at the “Rotary Club of Fort Myers South” Law and Order Ball. WINK News Anchors Amanda Hall and Corey Lazar will emcee the event. The 2018 Law & Order Ball Officer of the Year finalist are: Officer Emelia Lock, Fort Myers Police Department K-9 Officer Stephen Scrobe, Cape Coral Police Department Sergeant Sylvester Smalls, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sheriff Michael Truscott, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Domonic Zammitt, Fort Myers Police Department The Law & Order Ball will take place at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 at Germain Arena, located at 11000 Everblades Parkway in Estero. To read more about the event, you can visit their website.