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Retired WPD K-9 Fox Passes Away

[CREDIT: Rob Borkowski] Ptlm. Paul Wells and his partner, K9 Fox, at the start of the 2017 Gaspee Day Parade.

[CREDIT: Rob Borkowski] Ptlm. Paul Wells and his partner, K9 Fox, at the start of the 2017 Gaspee Day Parade.
[CREDIT: Rob Borkowski] Ptlm. Paul Wells and his partner, K9 Fox, at the start of the 2017 Gaspee Day Parade.
[CREDIT: Rob Borkowski] Ptlm. Paul Wells and his partner, K9 Fox, at City Hall prior to the April 7, 2015 ‪‎Warwick‬ City Council meeting. The meeting was a continuation of that Monday’s meeting, which a bomb threat ended prematurely.
[CREDIT: Rob Borkowski] Ptlm. Paul Wells and his partner, K9 Fox, at City Hall prior to the April 7, 2015 ‪‎Warwick‬ City Council meeting. The meeting was a continuation of that Monday’s meeting, which a bomb threat ended prematurely.
WARWICK, RI — K-9 Fox, longtime partner to fellow retiree Ptlm. Paul Wells, the veteran of parades, drug investigations, City Council guard duty and weapons tracking missions, has passed away, Warwick Police reported Monday.
“It is with a heavy heart the Warwick Police Department announces the passing of Retired K-9 Fox.

Officer Paul Wells and K-9 Fox became partners in March 2012 and worked together until their retirement in February 2019. K-9 Fox assisted numerous local, state, and federal agencies. He was also deputized by DEA. K-9 Fox became famous when he appeared numerous times on LivePD.”

In 2018, Wells and Fox met with Lippitt third-graders at the Warwick Police Headquarters Community Room to demonstrate their partnership in action. During the demonstration, Wells explained the unique relationship he and Fox shared, as the dog is  his partner, his pet and, in many respects, is considered a law enforcement tool.
Wells told the students that Fox and all dogs in K-9 units are sent into harms way ahead of their human partners.  Often, the situations police dogs lead the way on involve people who want to fight an arrest.

An unparalleled nose for crime

Fox and Wells teamed up on numerous high-profile missions throughout their seven-year partnership. In 2015, they were instrumental in uncovering 90 lbs of marijuana worth $90,000 when DEA agents called them in to take a look at some suspicious packages that had flummoxed the federal agents’ own K-9 units.
‘Our sympathy goes out to Paul, his wife Amy, and their children. Fox will be missed by everyone here at the police department as well as the community.’

The drugs had been encased in a layer of foam, wrapped in foil and sealed in red cellophane, which was coated in a flowery-scented oil to further throw off the scent. The efforts were no match for Fox’s olfactory gifts of detection.

That on-the-nose precision was put into service safeguarding the rescheduled Warwick City Council meeting April 7 that year after a bomb threat had cancelled that Monday’s original meeting.
In 2016, Fox and Wells helped fellow Warwick officers apprehend tire rim thieves reported in the city by an alert citizen.
“This exemplifies how awesome it is to have K-9’s!” wrote Lt. Joe Hopkins about the arrests at the time.
In 2017, the duo tracked a suspect’s discarded, loaded .22 caliber pistol to the edge of the woods along Major Potter Road. Fox led Wells to a child’s metal lunchbox in the woods. Inside the lunchbox, found the .22 caliber semi-auto pistol along with personal items belonging to the suspect. The man was later charged with illegal possession of a firearm by someone convicted of a violent crime.
“Our sympathy goes out to Paul, his wife Amy, and their children. Fox will be missed by everyone here at the police department as well as the community,” Warwick Police wrote on their Facebook page, where they shared photos of the team in action.
[CREDIT: Rob Borkowski] WPD Ptlm. Paul Wells is led to hidden drugs in in the community room during a demonstration of WPD K-9 Fox's tracking prowess for Lippitt students May 2.
[CREDIT: Rob Borkowski] WPD Ptlm. Paul Wells is led to hidden drugs in in the community room during a demonstration of WPD K-9 Fox’s tracking prowess for Lippitt students May 2.
Rob Borkowski
Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.

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