Recent threats stress need for bomb dog in Lake County

About two years ago, the Lake County sheriff's department retired a deputy whose sole purpose was to locate explosives.

Since the loss of Comet the bomb-sniffing dog, police departments have had to ask the Cook County sheriff's department for help. The wait for the dog to come from Cook County can take up to 90 minutes, police officials said.

And that's if the dog is available at all.

A rash of threats at local schools lately has brought the issue into focus. Police officials agree there's a need for a dog in Lake County but say they can't afford the costs -- which start at about $20,000.

"There is definitely a need for a bomb dog in the county," said Grayslake Police Chief Larry Herzog. "Granted most of these bomb threats are pranks of some kind, but you can never be too careful."

Three times in April, the Cook County dog was too busy to make it up to Grayslake to check schools that had been threatened, Herzog said. He called multiple agencies for a bomb dog, but none were available.

He said he didn't bother to try a fourth and fifth time.

"What if one of those were legitimate and there was a bomb somewhere?" he said. "If there was a dog in Lake County, we could have them here in enough time to potentially stop an issue."

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran agreed the county should have a bomb-sniffing dog but said funding for the specialized pooch is extremely costly.

"It can save lives and is truly an invaluable tool in law enforcement," Curran said. "But it also costs tens of thousands of dollars to train and care for the dog. It's not a cheap investment."

He said the cost of the dog alone is about $20,000 with training, which takes months. After that, the dog and the officer are put on the street and called in when needed.

Curran says the county is studying the possibility of getting another bomb dog.

"It is something we are definitely researching because there is a growing need in Lake County for a dog like this."

Comet was retired when his handler officer retired. He now works part time for the U.S. Marshal service. Like the Cook County dog nowadays, he helped numerous agencies during his time in Lake County. He even was dispatched to Utah by the federal government in 2002 to sniff out bombs at the Winter Olympic Games.