Julio Lock was born in New Jersey and raised alongside his two younger brothers, Ryan and David, and his younger sister, Emily. From an early age, Julio developed a strong appreciation for teamwork and discipline through baseball, a sport he played throughout his childhood. It was during high school that one of his baseball coaches, a local police officer, introduced him to the world of law enforcement. One day during practice, a K-9 officer visited the team to demonstrate how police dogs work in partnership with their handlers to protect the community. From that moment on, Julio knew he wanted to work with K-9s.
After high school, Julio and his family moved to Cape Coral, Florida, where he began his career in law enforcement at the largest sheriff’s department in southwest Florida. Over the years, he worked in several specialized units, including Corrections, Patrol, Juvenile Crimes, and the Special Enforcement Team. His persistence and passion eventually led him to achieve his long-term goal of joining the K-9 Unit.
Julio was first partnered with K-9 Kilo, a dual-purpose narcotics detection and patrol dog. Together, they successfully located violent criminals and played a key role in numerous high-risk operations. K-9 Kilo earned both local and national recognition for his performance. While still working with Kilo, Julio also took on a second police dog, Maggie, a bloodhound he received as a puppy. Julio and his team trained Maggie to track missing persons, and she went on to locate several individuals, including dementia patients and children with autism. Julio describes this work as the most rewarding part of his K-9 career.
Following Kilo’s retirement, Julio continued serving as a K-9 Unit Supervisor, working with K-9 Rico and K-9 Sky, both trained in explosive detection and patrol operations. Later in his law enforcement career, he was recruited by a neighboring sheriff’s office to help reestablish their K-9 program. There, he partnered with K-9 Reggie, a patrol and narcotics detection dog, and also helped train several new K-9 teams for the department.
After a distinguished 19-year career in law enforcement, Julio retired and relocated to Tennessee with his wife, Emelia, and their son, Julian. Now part of the Ridgeside K9 Knoxville training team, Julio brings a high level of professionalism, tactical knowledge, and hands-on experience to pet dog training. He is passionate about helping Knoxville-area families build better relationships with their dogs through clear communication, structure, and trust.
Julio is honored to serve the Knoxville community by training dogs to become calm, obedient, and well-mannered companions. His background in working with high-performance K-9s gives him a unique skill set that translates to reliable results for both pets and their owners.
