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Died – 12/26/19
1st Handler – Officer Joseph Crowder
2nd Handler – Officer Mark Sohn
Retired K9 cop Daxxx dies after battling injuries
As a young officer, he was something to behold. Forget warm and fuzzy, this cop was a beast. The triple X in his name, they called him Daxxx, was meant to emphasize his might, his prowess as a cop. Daxxx, this ruggedly handsome, dark-haired beauty, was every bit a bad boy, but in a good way. But as is life, injuries and time took its toll on Daxxx. It slowed him down. The pain from a work-related spinal injury that sent Daxxx into early retirement from the Boynton Beach Police Department in 2015 became too much in the recent days. And so on Thursday, police officer Mark Sohn summoned K9 officers from Boynton Beach and Delray Beach police departments to meet him at an emergency veterinary hospital to say goodbye and thank fellow cop, Daxxx, a 9-year-old German Shepherd, for all he brought to the world. In retirement, Daxxx was a mellow, lovable, lug of fur. As a cop, he was fierce. This dog loved to work. His career was cut short in 2015 when he was just 5 after a work-related injury caused three bulging discs in his neck to push down on his spine. Four years ago, Daxxx retired to the home of his partner of three years, Joseph Crowder. When Crowder died suddenly while jogging in 2016, Daxxx moved in with Sohn, then a K9 officer with the Boynton Beach Police Department. Sohn called on fellow K9 handlers Thursday for their support when it was apparent Daxxx’s time here was near the end. Losing Crowder suddenly at the age of 44, and now his former partner Daxxx, makes the losses all the more heart-breaking, said Stephanie Slater, a spokeswoman for the Boynton Beach Police Department. “Please keep officer Crowder’s family as well as the Sohn family in your thoughts during this difficult time. We find comfort in knowing that Daxxx is reunited with his beloved partner and friend and they are watching over all of us,” Slater said. RELATED: Boynton Beach dog park to be named after K-9 officer who died. Daxxx was a tremendous K9 officer who apprehended nearly two dozen criminals during his short career of just three years, Slater said. He’s remembered for finding the driver of a 50-mile car chase hiding in the bushes in 2015 — on live television with helicopters hovering. Daxxx will be honored at the 2020 Florida Police K9 competition on March 28 at Boynton Beach High School.
