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Oak Brook police dog gets early retirement
Updated: January 7, 2013 6:10AM
OAK BROOK — The Oak Brook Police Department’s canine, Brutus, is giving up police work to spend the rest of his life in the home of his former handler.
Danny Ramirez was the department’s canine officer until being promoted to the rank of sergeant Aug. 22. With the promotion, Police Chief James Kruger wants Ramirez to spend the majority of his time supervising and managing officers, instead of working as a canine handler.
Brutus worked with Ramirez since 2006 and was taken out of service Sept. 1. Kruger said that while the dog could have probably worked for another two years, it wasn’t in the best interest of the department or Brutus to transfer the dog to another handler.
“I used to be a canine officer,” Kruger said. “There’s a very strong bond that forms between the dogs and the officers who work with them. It just really didn’t make any sense at this point to try to get him to work with another officer.”
Kruger said it is more cost effective and efficient to start a new handler with a new dog, which likely could have a 10-year service life.
“I’m looking for a new canine officer now,” Kruger said. “We’ll get that picked fairly soon and then go through the process of getting a new dog for the department.”~.
