The Joker got the upper hand again.

K-9 Joker and his pal K-9 Bane won first and third, respectively, in the Blue Line Unlimited 2023 Summer K9 Photo Contest. The contest awards $500 to the winning department.

This is the second win for Joker, as he won another Blue Line contest last winner to bring home $1,000.

Oakboro Police Sgt. Jason Eschert is handler of the K-9 officers.

“I reached out to Blue Line Unlimited and wanted to split the $500 with K9 Drago,” Eschert said, referring to the dog of the Wood County Sheriff’s Office in West Virginia.

“As only one dog wins the contest, it was good competition and we were both winners for how our communities rallied around us — not to mention the power of social media support,” Eschert added. “Drago has 23,000 followers and K-9 Joker and K-9 Bane have 30,000 just on Facebook. I felt this was a fair gesture.”

Eschert said after doing this, a social media follower reached out and is giving Oakboro $250 in honor of Bane to cover what it gave away to Wood County.

In other K-9 news, work continues on the children’s book featuring Joker and Bane. While the story is written, illustration remains underway, according to Police Chief T.J. Smith.