Lake County sheriff's office mourns police dog Diesel, who tracked missing residents, felons
Just days short of his eighth birthday, Lake County Sheriff's canine Diesel died Saturday.
The sheriff's office announced Sunday that Diesel died in the company of his partner, Deputy Craig Somerville.
The dog had recently been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that had reached an advanced stage. Diesel would have celebrated his eighth birthday on Sept. 15.
Diesel began his career in 2015 and established his reputation by finding dozens of missing endangered people, tracking down fleeing felons and uncovering significant amounts of contraband. The sheriff's office in its release wrote, "Canine Diesel anxiously awaited every day for Deputy Somerville to open the squad car door, so he could go to work."
In 2016, Somerville and Diesel were awarded the Chicago Crime Commission "Paws of Distinction" Award.
In January of that year, Diesel located 29 individually wrapped bags of heroin, three individually wrapped bags of crack cocaine, one bag of powder cocaine and a pistol that had been hidden in a vehicle compartment.
That February, Diesel encouraged two offenders to surrender during a burglary.
In August 2016, Diesel tracked down a suspect who had fled a bank on foot after an armed robbery. The stolen money and a handgun were recovered.
In November 2018, Diesel helped locate a missing boy with a neurobehavioral condition in Round Lake Beach.
Diesel tracked the boy's scent for nearly a half-mile and located him stuck in waist-deep muck in a water retention area, according to the sheriff's office. The boy was taken to a hospital showing signs of hypothermia.
"Canine Diesel was a sworn member of our staff and added such tremendous value to our office and to the community," Sheriff John D. Idleburg said in the release. "His accomplishments throughout the years will never be forgotten and we will forever be grateful for his service to Lake County. Deputy Somerville lost the closest partner a deputy could have, and we mourn with him."