An honored veteran of the Lake Forest Police Department has retired. However, he won’t be putting his proverbial two feet up to relax. In this case, it is his four big paws.
K9 Chase, a 110-pound German shepherd who assisted police in public safety efforts throughout the area, is moving into a full-time role of family pet as he has capped off a nearly six-year run with the department.
Specifically, Chase has worked with his handler, Officer Mike Hughes on law enforcement efforts with some community relations tossed into the overall bowl.
“It’s been the coolest thing I have done in my 13 years in law enforcement,” Hughes noted.
It is a relationship developed at all hours and locales as Hughes both works with Chase and then he takes him back to his house.
“I literally take my work home with me,” Hughes joked.
Chase’s association with the department started in April 2019 as the Lake Forest Police Foundation advocated to then-Police Chief Karl Walldorf to fill the vacancy of a patrol dog that had been in place since 1996, Hughes said.
With the Foundation providing financial assistance, Hughes was tapped to be the handler, a job he wanted since his early days in the department.
One of the first tasks was to name the furry friend and that is where Hughes’s then four-year-old daughter played a role. He said she was a big fan of Paw Patrol, the animated television series featuring a group of rescue and search dogs. One of her favorite characters on the program is Chase, the police dog. Hughes selected that name as he was not aware of many dogs with the moniker of Chase in the area.
“I thought it was a good name for a police canine in Lake Forest. It worked on every level,” Hughes recalled.
As part of the department, Chase was trained in human tracking/trailing, building and article searches, and narcotics detention as well as apprehension of suspects.
He was on the scene on July 4, 2022, when police arrested alleged shooter Robert Crimo III at the intersection of Route 41 and Westleigh Road hours after the murders at the Highland Park parade earlier that day.
“He was the only canine on the scene. I had a tool that the rest of the officers didn’t have and when you get a 110-pound German shepherd out of the car and their bark commands really people’s attention,” Hughes said. “If nothing else I wanted to get Chase out as that extra deterrent piece and that tool that was not on scene already.”
Hughes also remembers Chase assisting in the arrest of a person who had allegedly stolen a car in Deerfield and they were able to track the person over multiple blocks and found the suspect in a garbage shed that he had locked from the inside.
That followed Chase’s first case occurring in Glenview involving another attempted car theft.
“We put all those hours of training together and had success and we were able to stop a guy while he was burglarizing numerous vehicles,” Hughes remembered. “For us to be able to assist another agency was great.”
Overall, Chase assisted 21 other departments besides playing a role in Lake Forest law enforcement.
“Chase has been an invaluable member of the team, serving alongside Officer Hughes with distinction,” Police Chief John Burke said in a statement. “Together, they have demonstrated incredible teamwork, and Chase’s service to the Lake Forest Police Department has been outstanding.”
Hughes believes Chase was successful because he loved the work and his favorite thing to do was tracking.
“He sees me getting all my gear every morning as I am going to work and these dogs flip a switch,” Hughes said. “They go from a dog who is home with my family to I’m a police canine ready to work. Chase was very good at that.”
Chase also provided another benefit as a department symbol, participating in nearly 130 community events, where people would approach him and say hello.
On less formal occasions, Hughes remembered how there would be times he and Chase would be at a park and little children would be intrigued and might ask questions as the dog sat down.
Hughes would distribute Chase stickers and trading cards and viewed it as a good way to reach out.
“Sometimes these kids are unsure of police officers but when you pull a dog out, what an easy way to connect with somebody,” he said.
Chase was not trained to bite people, which Hughes viewed as an advantage.
“The liability diminishes because I don’t necessarily have to worry if we round the corner and Chase finds (someone), is he going to bite them? I was able to do more community events because Chase was an approachable dog.”
Instead, Hughes described him as a bark-and-hold dog.
“He would jump up with his front legs toward your chest and he would bark almost tipping the top of your nose,” he said.
But like humans, dogs age and time is catching up with K9 Chase, thought to be 7.
“They have a working shelf life. Getting in and out of the car numerous times a day and the endless hours of training it takes a toll on these dogs over time,” Hughes acknowledged.
Specifically, Chase has been showing signs of aging, arthritis, and digestive concerns.
“It is time to let him retire and enjoy his time and relax,” Hughes said.
The department honored K9 Chase on Dec. 7 at Deerpath Community Park and he will now be living full-time at the Hughes household.
With Chase moving on, explorations have begun between the Police Foundation and the Police Department to find a new dog in the department and Hughes is hopeful something will be worked out.
“The community wants to continue the program,” he said. “It’s a huge asset.”
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
