A job well done, Officer Ciesielczyk

I am writing to congratulate Elgin Police Department Animal Control Officer Matthew Ciesielczyk on a job well done. Recently, he successfully captured/rescued a little stray dog that has been living underneath a neighbor's deck for at least the last four weeks.

Officer Ciesielczyk spent a lot of his valuable time, on and off the clock, and effort in trying to help this little dog. He has done it with great kindness, patience and thoughtfulness. He would regularly check on the dog and the trap he had set up, sometimes bringing food, and always taking time to answer my phone calls of questions or fears I had, even showing me how to check the trap in case the dog was caught while he was off duty.

His concern over the poor, lost, and "unchipped," creature was very touching and reinforced my hope for, and belief in, a caring community of people both in their private and professional lives.

With all the bad news we often hear, Officer Ciesielczyk's persistence in what some people might consider an unimportant problem was a ray of sunshine in this gloomy spring. And with the "happy ending" of seeing the sweet little dog safe on her way to a rescue shelter, I cannot thank him enough for his efforts.

Kudos to the Elgin Police Department Animal Control office and to Officer Ciesielczyk.

Katie Wood-Thurnau

Elgin