Any responsible dog owner knows to limit their best friend’s time outside on days when there’s excessive heat or extreme cold.
But when your dog needs to get busy chasing after bad guys or searching for a missing person, waiting indoors for ideal temperatures isn’t an option.
The Wauconda Police Department recently found a solution to that quandary — a body temperature-sensing microchip that’s painlessly implanted near a dog’s neck to monitor whether it’s getting overheated or too cold while on the job.
“K9s are tools, but they’re also our partners and they need the same kind of medical care as you would want for a member of your family,” Wauconda officer Michael Nardulli told us.
Nardulli teams with Skye, one of the department’s two police dogs. The second, Badger, partners with Sgt. John Finze.
Thanks to a donation from Wauconda Animal Hospital, the department was able to implant the temperature-sensing chips — each roughly the size of a grain of rice — this spring. Nardulli and Finze can check their temperatures by waving a small wand over their partners’ necks.
Nardulli told us that working dogs such as K9s ideally operate between 102.5 and 103.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above 104 not only creates a potential health issue for the dog, but means they’re not working at their best.
“When we go above that, they’re mouth breathing and we need them to use their noses,” he said. “We’re not just ensuring their health and safety, we’re also getting the full potential out of the dog.”
And when air temperatures turn frigid, officers can monitor their dog partners to make sure they’re not at risk of hypothermia.
Wauconda’s two police dogs, including Skye, have had temperature-sensing microchips implanted that allow their human partners to check their body temperature.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
“As police officers, we can be fully bundled up,” Nardulli said. “All they’ve got is their fur.”
Before the arrival of temperature-sending microchips, police officers often were left guessing whether their dog partners were safe to work, Nardulli said. Now they can accurately assess their partners’ condition and call in a backup dog when needed.
“It really helps us get the most out of our dogs,” he said.
Wauconda Police Department dog Skye and her partner officer Michael Nardulli visit with veterinarian Dr. Carolyn Nemmers at the Wauconda Animal Hospital. The hospital donated the two temperature-sensing microchips implanted in Skye and fellow police dog Badger.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Lt. Dan drops in
On-screen, actor and suburban native Gary Sinise may be best known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Dan in the Oscar-winning “Forrest Gump.”
Actor Gary Sinise spoke in a video recorded message to the graduates of DuPage County Circuit Court’s Veterans Court on Oct. 4.
Courtesy of DuPage County Judge Paul Marches
Away from Hollywood, though, Sinise has made his mark as an advocate for veterans and active members of the military.
So, it was only fitting that Sinise dropped in last week, via a recorded video message, on a graduation ceremony for the DuPage County Veterans Court.
DuPage County court services workers, attorneys, volunteers and the five graduates of Veterans Court pose for a photo at their Oct. 4 graduation ceremony.
Courtesy of DuPage County Judge Paul Marchese
“It is an honor to celebrate your graduation from veterans court,” Sinise told the five graduates in this year’s class.
The specialty “problem-solving” court serves veterans who run afoul of the law, often as a result of mental health or substance abuse issues that arise from their service. Participants agree to undergo counseling, treatment, drug testing and other conditions and, if they make to graduation, can have the cases against them dismissed.
Sinise noted that “veterans court is not an easy path,” as participants have frequent appointments with court workers, drug tests, counseling groups and more.
“It requires determination and strength. But determination is something these veterans know about,” he told the graduates. “You worked hard and made the best of your second chance. I am thrilled for you and your families.”
Besides graduation certificates, several of the class members received quilts from the Quilts of Valor organization.
“I can honestly say that without this program I would not be standing here,” said one of the grads, adding that he has now been sober since April 2021. “Just keep strong. It will help you. Sobriety is a blessing.”
A class above
Congrats to Lake Zurich police Sgt. Randall Witt, who last week was inducted into Lake Zurich High School’s 2024 class of Distinguished Alumni.
Witt, who graduated from Lake Zurich High in 1996, has been with the department for 23 years, serving as a police officer, detective, field training officer and training instructor. He’s also served with the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group, a drug investigation task force.
Lake Zurich police Sgt. Randall Witt was inducted last week as a member of Lake Zurich High School’s 2024 class of Distinguished Alumni.
Courtesy of the Lake Zurich Police Department
A standout athlete at LZHS, he’s served as a volunteer coach for youth football, basketball and baseball. As part of the induction festivities, Witt had the honor of performing the official coin toss at the start of last Friday’s homecoming football game.
No second break
A former Prospect Heights man who as a teenager shot and killed his former girlfriend and her unborn child shouldn’t get a second break on his prison sentence, a state appeals court ruled last week.
Roberto O’Campo was 17 years old in October 2020, when authorities said he killed Angelica Bailon during an argument at a Prospect Heights apartment complex. O’Campo testified that a gun he was holding accidentally fired, killing the 18-year-old victim, but prosecutors portrayed the shooting as an intentional act by a jealous ex.
A jury found him guilty and he was sentenced in 2002 to serve 45 years in prison. Two decades later, that was reduced to a 35-year term in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that said “de facto” life sentences for defendants under 17 years old are unconstitutional.
Roberto O’Campo
O’Campo appealed, arguing that the sentence was still too long given his young age at the time of the killing, his remorse and other mitigating factors.
A unanimous appellate court rejected his claims.
“The trial court carefully considered the youth-related factors … before concluding that defendant deserved a 35-year sentence, 10 years below the previous sentence,” the court ruled. “In so concluding, the court found the circumstances of this ‘very serious’ offense did not weigh in defendant’s favor, as it involved the death of a young woman and her 6-month in-gestation unborn baby.”
According to state prison records, O’Campo, 41, becomes eligible for parole in June 2035.
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