K9 Chip is back home with his partner, @mcpnews officer Gil Fones @wtop pic.twitter.com/rWXjieLxz8
— Jamie Forzato (@jamieforzato) October 27, 2015
WASHINGTON — A Montgomery County police officer had a touching reunion with his K-9 partner earlier this week after the department sent the dog halfway across the country.
Officer Gil Fones with the Montgomery County Police Department says the dog he worked with for four years — a Belgian Malinois named Chip — was retired earlier this year after the dog bit him.
Fones says Chip bit him on the forearm during a recertification exercise in April, but he insisted the bite was minor and that Chip didn’t even break the skin. Still, Fones had to surrender the dog, who was placed with Warrior Dog Foundation — a rescue organization in Texas that specializes in rehoming police and military dogs.
Now, after a huge social media push and more than 200,000 signatures on a Change.org petition, Chip and Fones were reunited Monday. It was the first time they had seen each other since May.
“[Monday] night was the first time I actually got to see him and hold him again,” he said. “It was a wonderful reunion between myself and Chip and the family.”
It was a touching moment for Fones, who had brought Chip home every day during their four-year relationship. Chip and another bomb detection K-9, Charlie, lived with Fones, who has six adult children.
“This is where he is going to be most loved — right here,” Fones says of Chip.
Montgomery County police say there were concerns about the family and the dog’s welfare, so Chip was retired from the force in May. The Fones family wanted to adopt him, but in July, the department sent Chip to the Warrior Dog Foundation.
Another family adopted Chip a couple of weeks later, but through a third party, Fones says he was able to bring Chip back home to stay.
“He belongs here, he is back home. There’s no issues with Chip,” Fones says.
WTOP’s Jamie Forzato contributed to this report.
