Award-winning Oak Creek Police K9 Nox who logged 'extremely successful career' has died

Former Oak Creek Police K9 Nox, who had an “extremely successful career,” according to his handler, has died.

Nox was a German shepherd from the Netherlands. His handler, Officer Dawn Hanizeski, initially took ownership of her former patrol partner after he retired with an honorable discharge in June 2021 after eight years on the force.

Hanizeski said he adjusted well to retirement life, but not so much to her new K9 partner Kuiper .

“I was unable to keep him because I got Kuiper and they did not get along,” she said.

Nox ended up with a local family where he got to play with other dogs and swim in a pool every day.

While it was “pretty infrequent” that she got to see him over the last few years, the emotional connection built over nearly a decade of working together was still strong as Hanizeski held back tears talking about Nox’s passing.

“He was an old guy so he just kind of got ill to the point where his quality of life was getting worse,” she said.

When Nox started displaying signs of distress, the difficult decision was made to have him put down.

Nox was 12.

Hanizeski, who's had a passion for animals since childhood and prioritized becoming a canine handler when she joined the police force, said she hasn’t yet held a memorial for Nox but may in the coming days.

The Oak Creek Police Department shared the news of Nox’s passing on its official Facebook page July 22.

As of July 26, 135 residents had shared their condolences in the comments telling Nox to rest easy and thanking him for his service and a job well done.

Hanizeski said she doesn’t have social media, but was grateful to hear about the outpouring of support.

“I just wanted to let people know that I appreciate all the thoughts and kind words and that he was a great asset to the community and will be sincerely missed,” she said.

More: Recently honored Oak Creek police officer describes chase in which police dog bites suspect

Nox was an award-winning K9

In 2017, Hanizeski won first place in the K9 Narcotics Detection challenge . Nox was also awarded the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Canine Handler Association K9 Track of the Year in 2019.

Hanizeski said Nox was “an extremely good narcotics detecting K9” with hundreds of drug arrests to his name. He was also partly responsible for one of the largest cocaine seizures by the Oak Creek Police Department.

“We did a sniff warrant on a residence that ended up having two pounds of cocaine inside,” she said.

A month before his retirement, Nox located three people that fled from Racine County.

Speaking with an apparent mix of pride in her pawed partner and sadness over the loss, Hanizeski said that track was “kind of like … a good end.”

More: From a wheelchair to wings: St. Francis' K9 Bane has died after battling nerve disorder

Contact Erik S. Hanley at erik.hanley@jrn.com . Like his Facebook page, The Redheadliner , and follow him on X @Redheadliner .

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Award-winning Oak Creek Police K9 Nox who logged 'extremely successful career' has died