Kane County police dog retires

The Kane County Sheriff's Department had a retirement party Thursday for one of its furriest officers.

Mato, a drug-detecting, suspect-tracking German shepherd, bid farewell after five years on the force.

"He's whining here because he still wants to work," Mato's handler, Deputy Ron Hain, joked as the 7-year-old canine soaked up the attention at a brief ceremony attended by police from across the area.

Mato, who turns 8 in March, came to the department in 2004 and went on to assist in more than 50 felony arrests, as well as the seizure of more than 500 grams of cocaine and 1,500 pounds of marijuana, officials said. In 2008, the four-legged deputy tracked one of three men accused of shooting a 4-year-old girl in Aurora.

Working with Mato has been "the most enjoyable thing I've ever done," said Hain, who trained with the dog five days a week and cared for him at home. "You spend eight hours together, then you go home together. You really do become connected."

In addition to tracking and drug-detecting, Mato (German for Matt) is trained to work with SWAT teams and has assisted in standoff situations. He recently was retired because of trouble with a disc in his back.

Lt. Pat Gengler said Hain and his family would continue to care for the dog, even though he is no longer in service.

"Not only is he a partner to Ron, he's a member of the family," Gengler said.

Hain recalled how other K-9 handlers told him early on that he and Mato eventually would develop such a close bond that he would be able to sense intuitively when his partner needed to make a pit stop. That turned out to be true, he said.

"It's kind of lonely in my car" without Mato, Hain said. "I don't have that immediate backup. And it's a lot quieter."