Meet Willson and Bauer: Elgin's new police dogs

With the addition of two new police dogs, Elgin now has four K-9 units, the most since the first unit was created 24 years ago.

Willson, a chocolate Lab partnered with officer Chris Jones, and Bauer, a German shepherd paired with Officer Justin Brown, joined the department about two weeks ago. Both dogs are 22 months old.

Having a police dog combines his passion for canines and his desire to work in narcotics, Brown said. "It's the game - it's hard, it's challenging, and it's rewarding," he said.

Jones said he came to admire police dogs while working alongside them over the years. "I was really intrigued by what they were able to do," he said.

The handlers and their dogs trained together at TOPS Kennels in Grayslake before the dogs joined the department. Ongoing training will take place three days a month plus weekly visits from TOPS trainers.

"The key is training," Jones said. "If you have faith in your dog and have consistency with your dog, you're not going to have a false hit."

Working with their new canine partners has been an adjustment, the officers said.

"The first week was overwhelming," said Brown, who recently moved and has a baby on the way. Bauer has a penchant for running around and initially put his mark all over the house, he explained.

"It was a big adjustment," Jones said. He took five days off work after the end of the intensive training period, although Willson was ready to go to work after three days, he joked.

The other two police dogs in Elgin are Colt, a German shepherd whose handler is Officer Chad Schuttrow, and Gage, a Deutsch-Drahthaar whose handler is Officer Marshall Kite.

Colt is the only utility dog among the four, meaning he's trained for apprehension and handler protection. The other three are detection dogs, meaning they can track people - think missing children and individuals with Alzheimer's but also criminals - by detecting human scent. They are most frequently used for narcotics detection as they can recognize among five main drug categories: powder cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and cannabis.

Police dogs are actively used on duty at least once a day, but it takes them a while to fully adjust to their role in law enforcement, Kite said.

"It's probably going to take two years before they recognize, 'I'm a police dog. That's all I do.' "

Elgin police decided it would be a good idea to get two dogs in preparation for Gage's retirement within a year or so, Cmdr. Dan O'Shea said. Police dogs generally serve for about eight years, he said. "That way, we're also measuring whether we want to have four K-9 units (permanently)," he said.

The average cost of a police dog plus training is about $12,000, but Elgin got a package deal and spent about $18,000 for Bauer and Willson, O'Shea said.

Outfitting police cars to accommodate dogs - with cages, rear temperature control and climate sensors to ensure the dogs don't overheat - costs about $4,000 per car, while ongoing maintenance costs for food and shots are minimal, O'Shea said.