Barry, Westport’s newest member of the police force, isn’t your typical officer.

He’s never clothed apart from a harness and sometimes, a little police cap. He doesn’t talk much and just wants pets and snuggles. And though he’s 13, he’s got big puppy dog eyes.

But he’s proving to be a good ambassador for the force.

“He loves a good belly rub,” police chief Christopher Dunn said.

Barry, a mixed breed owned by patrol officer Kyle Fernandes, is the department’s new “comfort dog” and started on the job late last month. You’ll probably see him out and about at special events, schools, the Council on Aging, and other places around town. There are plans to bring him to a Special Olympics event in Dartmouth later this week, and he’ll march in the Memorial Day parade.

Barry’s long road to becoming a police dog is “almost unbelievable,” Fernandes said Monday.

About six years ago, he went on a call to a home to check on the well-being of the lone man living there. When he and other officers arrived, they found the man deceased — Barry had been inside the house with him since his passing some days earlier.

From the minute Hernandez encountered Barry, it was clear they had a special bond, the officer remembers. So he spoke to the deceased’s family in Virginia and they agreed that he should take Barry, as they didn’t have the means to.

They’ve been joined at the hip ever since — “he’s got such a good nature,” Hernandez said. “He’s been a blessing.”

Fernandes, previously the town’s school resource officer, approached department brass a year or more ago to ask if they’d like to bring Barry on as an ambassador, much like some other area towns, including Tiverton, do. Westport dog trainer Eric Letendre offered to train Barry for free and Hernandez said that with his friendly disposition, he’d make a good addition to the force.

Though that effort stalled initially, department officials recently gave him the final OK, and both Barry and Fernandes have gone through training toward that role, including Barry’s successful completion of the American Kennel Club Good Citizen Test.

Chief Dunn said Barry has been a welcome addition so far. With Fernandes serving as the senior liaison officer, Barry will likely visit the Council on Aging, and will probably attend school assemblies and special events around town, among other duties.