Vernon Hills police dog honored after retirement

Bullet, an 11-year-old German shepherd, doesn't have a fat pension built up but he is enjoying retirement. Free from his 9-to-5 drug sniffing, people searching obligations, Bullet is immersed in the comforts of home sweet home.

The canine, a 10-year veteran of the Vernon Hills Police Department, hung up his bite collar in January. He now lives with Officer Vince Utter, and both were on hand Friday at a retirement assembly for Bullet at Hawthorn Middle School North in Vernon Hills.

Utter and Officer William Heelan demonstrated obedience and drug sniffing skills with Bullet and Storm, an active duty police dog.

"That dog looks scary. I would hate to be tackled by that dog," one student said to another in the bleachers.

Danny Sobecki, a police K-9 trainer, explained during the assembly that the department has its dogs shipped directly from Germany, and pays $2,500 to $4,500 for an untrained dog.

When the dogs arrive, they go through three months of obedience training, then an eight-week course in their police duties.

Storm demonstrated his drug sniffing abilities by finding "pseudo" heroin in one of three boxes. He also donned his bite collar, which the officers put on the dogs when they may have to bite someone. Storm dug his teeth into the arm of a trainer wearing protective padding when the trainer pretended to antagonize the officer.

The student council presented Bullet with some retirement gifts - various chew toys to play with at home. Utter is happy to have him as a housemate.

"I knew I wanted to be in K-9 when I got on the force, and I was lucky enough to get on it," he said.