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Fountain PD welcomes it’s newest officer, Phoenix

Posted at 5:48 PM, Sep 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-10 19:48:33-04

FOUNTAIN – Fountain Police’s newest officer wears a different kind of uniform.

Say hello to Phoenix, Fountain Police’s only canine officer patrolling the streets. The police dog graduating from the canine police academy on Monday.

“It was pretty natural for him,” said his handler and new partner Jon Kay.

For the past three months the duo worked on obedience, how to search for narcotics in buildings and cars as well as hunting down bad guys. Kay says it didn’t all come easy, there was one area where the two really had to work on.

“The hardest thing was him and I bonding and learning to trust one another,” he said.

The human and canine team now though are thick as thieves, which is bad news for criminals across the Pikes Peak region.

“We’re going to be able to do interdictions with other agencies,” Kay said. “Going out and looking for drugs and guns and bad guys.”

Some of those other agencies include the Colorado State Patrol, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and Colorado Springs Police.

Phoenix came to the department as a gift from Shield 616. He is the first police dog the organization has donated to law enforcement in the region.