Earlier this year, Lenin and his handler won the top prize at a national K-9 competition in Alabama.

BAYTOWN, Texas — A Baytown Police Department K-9 died last week after being bitten by a venomous snake during a training exercise.

Lenin was taken to a veterinarian, but they couldn't save him.

Lenin was the first dog to work with Baytown PD which was able to detect bombs and guns. He was a 2-year-old "maliherd," which is a mix between a Belgium malinois and a German shepherd.

In 2022, Lenin found 10 guns and several other pieces of evidence during three explosives sweeps and 17 weapon sweeps.

During a national competition in February, Lenin and his handler, Officer Kinzie, won the top bomb dog award, came in 2nd place in the bomb scramble and third place in the bomb vehicle category.

"The Baytown Police Department mourns the loss of K9 Lenin. He was one of our own as surely as any other officer in this agency is one of our own. For us, that means he was family and he will be missed but never forgotten. Our hearts are heavy for his partner, K9 Officer Kinzie, who lost not only a partner, but a faithful friend. K9 Lenin made significant contributions to the safety of Baytown in his short time with our department and he will be missed," Baytown Police Chief John Stringer said.