Racine County K-9 Nox dies of kidney failure

RACINE, Wis. - Racine County K-9 Nox passed away Sunday, April 30 due to kidney failure. He's the fourth K-9 the Racine County Sheriff's Office has lost from the ranks in five months.

According to the Racine County Sheriff's Office, on that Sunday, Nox's partner, Deputy Clemens, noticed Nox had become lethargic while off duty and did not want to even touch his favorite food.

After several tests at the vet, it was determined his kidneys were failing. He had been receiving treatment for kidney-related issues, the sheriff's office said. 

With no other options, K-9 Nox was humanely put to sleep with Deputy Clemens at his side. He was 10.5 years old.

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The sheriff's office said Nox was a dual-purpose K-9 certified in narcotic detection, evidence/article search, building search, tracking/ handler protection and criminal apprehension. Over the course of Deputy Clemens and K-9 Nox partnership, they had over 2,500 training hours and nearly 1,000 deployments.

Racine County K-9 Nox

The RCSO shared some of the highlights of K-9 Nox's service:

• In the spring of 2016, K-9 Nox alerted Deputy Clemens that a man was aggressively approaching their squad car. As Deputy Clemens was stepping out of the squad car, the man attacked Deputy Clemens and during the struggle, the two of them ended up on the ground. With the driver’s door still open and knowing his partner was being attacked, K-9 Nox wiggled through the door/partition between the front and back seats, leaped out the open door, grabbed onto the man’s wrist with his teeth, and did not release until the man was taken into custody.
• During the early morning hours of September 2018, deputies located an occupied vehicle behind a closed business. While speaking to the two occupants, the deputies noticed another man attempting to conceal himself along a nearby fence line. The man had a police-style duty belt that often contains weapons within his reach. The deputies gave many commands to the man to come out and show his hands; however, the man tried to crawl deeper into the fence line attempting to conceal himself. When the man lunged for the duty belt, Deputy Clemens released K-9 Nox and the dog instantly engaged the man so that the deputies could safely take the man into custody.
• Although K-9 Nox turned 10 years old in December 2022, he did not slow down a bit. K-9 Nox’s last apprehension was in April when deputies, and other local agencies, pursued two men in a U-Haul that had just committed a Retail Theft at Best Buy. The U-Haul was also a suspect vehicle in numerous retail thefts throughout southeastern Wisconsin. After a nearly 20-mile pursuit, stop-sticks were successfully deployed, and a tire on the U-Haul started to deflate. When the U-Haul was no longer operable, the two occupants fled the vehicle. Deputy Clemens and K-9 Nox chased after the operator of the vehicle. The man turned and squared up on Deputy Clemens attempting to fight. Deputy Clemens decentralized the man and K-9 Nox grabbed onto the man’s calf with his teeth. During the struggle, the man punched K-9 Nox and pulled on the dog’s face. When the man was finally secured with handcuffs, he stated, "I won’t ever do this again!" The man was arrested for multiple felony charges and a DOC warrant. The man had a long history of felony thefts, fleeing and eluding, and an armed bank robbery.

They said while he was on patrol with Deputy Clemens, K-9 Nox was all business, but K9 Nox was a gentle giant during community events, the county fair or at home with Deputy Clemens’ wife and children – even with his titanium teeth. 

Racine County Sheriff's K-9 Nox

4 RCSO K-9 officers lost in 5 months 

K-9 Nox is the fourth K-9 the Racine County Sheriff's Office has lost from the ranks in five months.

K-9 Friday and K-9 Nitro were able to retire and relax at home at nearly 11 and 12 years old, respectively. 

K-9 Murphy died from a sudden health condition last March when he was over 10 years old. 

The RCSO currently has four active multipurpose K-9s on patrol and one K-9 trained in locating electronics.

The career of a K-9 is around seven years, making most dogs eight to nine years old upon retirement. 

The RCSO's K-9 program is solely funded through the generous contributions of the community. If you are interested in making a tax-deductible donation of any amount, you can make a check out to the Racine County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit or contact one of the K-9 supervisors:

Sgt. Troy Ruffalo

(262) 636-8785 troy.ruffalo@racinecounty.com

or

Sgt. Joe Patla

(262) 636-3841 Joseph.patla@racinecounty.com