Donations help cover expenses of Gurnee, Lake County police dogs
Combined donations of about $32,600 have been made to help pay Gurnee police and Lake County sheriff canine unit expenses.
The money came from the Libertyville-based D.A.S. Charitable Fund for the Preservation of Feline Animal Life. Despite the name, the charity provides annual grants to several animal-related causes, including Lake County police canine units and wildlife rehabilitation.
Under D.A.S. Charitable Fund's terms, the cash is restricted to the care and training of the police dogs and cannot go toward equipment, vehicles or officer salaries,
D.A.S. awarded $20,882 to go toward this year's expenses of four German shepherds on the sheriff's police canine units. The sheriff's office canine units resumed in 2015 after a hiatus.
"We are grateful to be recipients of this grant from D.A.S. Charitable Fund," Undersheriff Raymond J. Rose said Tuesday. "The grant is significant to the sheriff's office and community, as it helps our canine teams receive the best training possible."
Gurnee received $11,714 to defray the costs of two German shepherds that have been on the police force for almost three years. In 2014, Police Chief Kevin Woodside expanded the canine unit to two animals after the retirement of another German shepherd.
"Hunter and Bear are tremendous assets for the village of Gurnee that we would not have without the support of the D.A.S. Charitable Fund," Woodside said.
D.A.S. has given about $114,000 to Gurnee police to sustain the canine units since 2007, Woodside said.
Sheriff's police Sgt. Christopher Covelli said the agency's four dogs receive periodic training focused on tracking, obedience, obstacles and drug detection. One dog, Dax, has been on a roll as of late.
Police said Dax and Deputy John Forlenza tracked down a man accused of domestic battery after he ran from a car that was on the side of a ramp on the northbound Tri-State Tollway at Route 60 near Mettawa early Sunday.
Last month, Dax and Forlenza were honored by the Illinois House for their actions May 10 to capture a man accused of attacking a police officer in Fox River Grove.
Gurnee Deputy Police Chief Willie Meyer said the village's canines had several highlights in the past year or so. For example, Hunter helped North Chicago police find a bank robbery suspect and Bear found a pistol and marijuana in a vehicle with Chicago-area gang members, leading city police to solve a home invasion case.