Police departments unite to remember Coventry K-9

June 24, 2016 6:06 pm

By Bianca Buono

bbuono@abc6.com

@BBuonoABC6

The Coventry Police Department was joined by K-9 units across the state to say goodbye to one of its officers. The department’s only K-9, Enzo, died earlier this week.

To Lt. Bryan Ricci, Enzo was more than a dog. He was his partner for ten years and his best friend.

"You just have that level of trust and love that you don’t get with other even officers that you work with every single day,” said Lt. Bryan Ricci, a member of the Coventry Police Department and Enzo’s handler.

Enzo, Coventry’s only police K-9, was almost 12 years old and nearing retirement. So when Lt. Ricci got the call earlier this week that Enzo was in the hospital, he was shocked.

"He was never sick. My wife came home from work on Tuesday and came downstairs and there he was. He couldn’t really walk. He couldn’t breathe she said he was having a hard time,” Lt. Ricci said.

Ricci was out of town, but thanks to his wife he was able to Skype with Enzo during his final moments.

"He was the pinnacle of what a K-9 should be,” Lt. Ricci said.

Friday, K-9 departments from across Rhode Island joined Coventry in a special procession to say goodbye to Enzo. Members of the public lined the streets. They say Enzo was known for his big personality.

"It was a beautiful procession because he was an officer and he was just an amazing, amazing dog,” said Andrea Hartman of Coventry.

"It’s a shame it really is I hope they find another one. It becomes part of the family,” said Debbie Zommer who came to watch the procession.

No doubt, Enzo was a huge part of Ricci’s family and he says it’s those moments at home that he’ll miss the most.

"If I was sitting on the couch he had to have part of his body on me if I was laying on the floor he would lay on me. I’m going to miss those moments that we had,” said Lt. Ricci.

Lt. Ricci was in South Carolina this week and believe it or not, his flight was canceled several times and he was stuck. To get to today’s procession, two Rhode Islanders he had never met paid for a rental car and drove through the night Thursday to get him here on time.