The graduates had names like Brutus, Duke, Zeus and Bo.
And although they put in a dog’s day of work, they didn’t get any of the graduation cake. That was saved for their six human counterparts-police officers from the south suburbs and Cook County forest preserves.
Thursday marked the end of a grueling three-month training period for the six officers and their dogs.
The officers-Jim Boie of Palos Hills, Alex Garcia of Lynwood, Mike Cornell of Blue Island and Greg Serratore, Andy Kraly and Keith Benson of the Cook County Forest Preserve District-all received high praise from their instructor.
“They all worked out,” said Cmdr. James Winter of the Cook County Forest Preserve District, who holds regular classes for area police departments. “Sometimes you get a group of people where all the personalities click and this was one of those groups.”
All of the officers volunteered to take the training and now are state certified as canine handlers. The dogs are now their 24-hour responsibility.
They got an opportunity to show off their new working partnerships in a snowy demonstration at the Forest Preserve District’s dog-training compound in Orland Park.
The drills included seaching for a man who was concealed in one of several boxes, an “articles search” for a glove and two attack demonstrations.
“The hardest part was the obedience training,” said Kraly. “You have to start from scratch.”
Kraly said his new partner Bo, a German shepherd/malamute mixed breed, is even better than another man.
“A dog is better protection,” said Kraly.
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For others, the hardest part was all those laps they were required to run around the 5-acre training compound when someone made a mistake.
“One guy makes a mistake and we all had to run,” said Boie.
Besides the certification degrees, another award was also given to Cook County Forest Preserve Sgt. Willie McLaughlin and his rottweiler, Baron. The pair were recognized as being the most improved team in the past year.
Although McLaughlin and Baron have passed the training course and have racked up an impressive work record, they always have missed by just a few points getting a passing grade on the annual fun trials sponsored by the district.
However, during the most recent trial, they placed fourth out of a field of 13.
“He’s a really good working dog,” said McLaughlin, pointing out that Baron was responsible for finding three would-be burglars in a Burbank bank ceiling and finding victims of the Paxton hotel fire. “It’s just that he doesn’t test well.”