Round Lake Park Police Department welcomes new dog
Chief Daniel Burch and the members of the Round Lake Park Police Department recently welcomed the newest Round Lake Park officer, K-9 Gunny, a 10-month-old AKC German shepherd that was donated to the Round Lake Park Police Department by Ellis and Ellis Consultants, LLC, through their "Project Safe and Secure" program.
Round Lake Park has had a long history of deploying police dogs, starting in 1999 when then-Officer Burch (now Chief Burch) was selected to be the department's first police dog handler. Since then, the department has had three other dogs, with the last retiring in 2016.
"We have been interested in obtaining another K-9 to serve Round Lake Park and, when needed, the surrounding communities, for some time. The biggest challenge initially has been finding an officer that was interested in becoming a handler to work with a police dog," Burch said.
"It takes a huge amount of time and commitment on the part of a handler. We now have two highly qualified and experienced officers that are eager to work with Gunny that are currently going through a selection process.
"Gunny will be evaluated by TOPS Kennels in Grayslake to help determine the best handler characteristics he needs to be the best possible K-9," Burch said. "Once that has been done, TOPS will help the Round Lake Park Police Department select the best officer."
Burch first learned of the possibility of a police dog donation when he, along with all the other association members, received a notification from the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police on Feb. 16 that a purebred German shepherd was available for donation.
"We immediately expressed our interest in being considered for the donation, as we had just started the process for getting a K-9 this fall. The timing was perfect," Burch said.
After waiting for nearly two months, Chief Burch, along with six other Illinois law enforcement agencies, received notification from Ellis and Ellis Consultants saying they had three dogs they were donating to law enforcement agencies across Illinois.
Chief Burch met with Ron Ellis and Dr. Sandra Ellis in Mount Pulaski, where he had the opportunity to meet the three beautiful dogs.
"It was a tough decision, but ultimately we felt Gunny would be the best choice for Round Lake Park," Burch said.
"Gunny is valued at $15,000, which is a huge savings to the village of Round Lake Park as we start our K-9 program back up," Burch said. "We are grateful to Ron and Sandra for their very generous donation. This is a wonderful example of public-private partnerships as part of an Illinois safe community initiative."
Gunny will be attending training at TOPS Kennels starting in June. The first eight weeks of his training will teach him the basics of being a police dog. Following the initial training, Gunny and his handler will complete the 400-hour state certification course. Gunny will initially be trained in tracking, area searches and illicit narcotics detection.
In an effort to support the ongoing expenses of a police dog program, the Round Lake Park Police Department is applying for K-9-specific grant funding and is also accepting monetary donations that will be used to cover the purchase of special police dog equipment, food, health care and training.
Some generous monetary donations have already been received, including from Dr. Koryn Swearingen and the Village Veterinary Clinic team in Grayslake, who have committed to work with Round Lake Park in providing care for Gunny.
Anyone interested in donating to the police dog program can visit the Round Lake Park Police Department's Facebook page, or stop at the Round Lake Park Police Department, 215E. Main St., Round Lake Park, for more information. All donations are used to support the current and future Round Lake Park police dog programs.
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