There’s a new team member at the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office that’s certain to be a paw-sitive presence. Bloodhound Jake is the latest K9 deputy to join the crew.
Ready, Scent, Train
Just 9 weeks old, Jake is set to begin his training on Wednesday. The black and tan bloodhound will go through an entire year of practice before he’s fully set to start trailing scent-specific human suspects. The department says Jake has already started a little early practice on his scents.
Special Namesake
Typically the sheriff’s office reaches out to the public for help in naming its K9 officers, but this time, they already had a name in mind. Jake has a very special namesake in Special Deputy U.S. Marshal Jacob Keltner of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office. The 35-year-old was killed in the line of duty on March 7, 2019. Keltner was fatally shot while he and other members of the U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force were trying to serve an arrest warrant at the Extended Stay Hotel in Rockford.
Though a McHenry County Sheriff’s deputy, Keltner also had ties to DuPage County. He started out as a civilian booking officer at the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office. Two of his family members also have served in DuPage County roles, with his brother Zachary a lieutenant in the Corrections Bureau, and his father Howard a retired DuPage County Sheriff’s Office chief of Corrections.
Long-Time Unit
The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office has had a K9 unit since 1984, adding a comfort dog into its program in 2019. Recently Tilly, a K9 member, helped a southern DuPage police agency find a juvenile who had harmed himself and then fled on foot.
Naperville News 17’s Kim Pirc reports.
photo courtesy: DuPage County Sheriff’s Office
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