'Great' first female police dog in Elgin

Elgin has its first female police dog since the canine program was created 26 years ago.

Tango is a 20-month-old German shepherd paired with Officer Marshall Kite, whose former dog partner retired earlier this year.

"She's been great," Kite said. "Training was a handful because she's young dog and she had a lot of energy."

Tango, who came to Elgin in mid-April, has found marijuana during vehicle searches, and a shoe and a handgun belonging to a suspect, Kite said. She also successfully tracked the path taken by suspects, later confirmed by video surveillance.

Elgin has had about 20 police dogs since 1991, all male. The majority of dogs in law enforcement are male, mostly because females tend to bond more with their handlers, which in turn can cause them to be more hesitant during tasks that require independence, such as going alone into buildings, Kite said. But there are no gender differences in other tasks like tracking and drug detection, he said.

Tango has shown as much independence as any dog, never hesitating to run ahead of him, Kite said.

"Her drive seems to be just as equivalent as the males," he said.

Kite's former canine partner, Gage, a German wirehaired pointer, retired in March and continues to live with the Kite family as a pet dog. Tango and Gage are starting to get along, Kite said.

"It took a little adjustment (for Gage) to understand he's retired. He finally doesn't run to the door anymore when I grab my gear," he said.

Elgin's police dogs usually are trained at Tops Kennels in Grayslake. The department's other dogs are: Willson, a chocolate lab partnered with Officer Chris Jones; Bauer, a German shepherd paired with Officer Justin Brown; and Colt, a German shepherd whose handler is Officer Chad Schuttrow.