Seven-Year-Old German Shepherd Has Cancer
By Kevin Roy, WLS News (Illinois)
Some southwest suburban community members are rallying in support of a sick police dog. “Tess” is now retired from service with the DuPage County Sheriff’s Police Department and fighting kidney cancer. Some of the citizens she once protected want to make sure this former k-9 unit member receives the best care she can.
She’s fighting cancer now --but fighting crime was the job that gave Tess and her partner, Corporal Bill Shreffler, a national reputation. Tess, a 7-year-old German shepherd, has a nose worth its weight in gold. But in November, DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba decided Tess must retire, after learning she was diagnosed with kidney cancer.
“Everyday I leave for work now, Tess sits at the door and looks at me like, how come I’m not going,” said Cpl. Bill Shreffler.
Tess was the very first human remains detecting police dog in this area and has sniffed out some high-profile crimes. A few years ago Tess found the remains of missing flight attendant Traci Todd’s dismembered body in the Beaubien Forest Preserve on Chicago’s Far South Side.
But in her time of need....the department refused to pay for Tess’ care. Unlike police officers, canines don’t get a retirement package. Bills topping $1,500 for surgery and chemotherapy went straight to her partner.
“Unfortunately, it seems as though the big picture here is once these dogs are retired, they’ve lived through their usefulness so to speak.”
That didn’t seem right to Don Earley and his West Chicago citizens group called ‘4 The People.’ They took it on themselves to raise the money.
“Having been a farm boy, you have a responsibility to animals....and I thought the responsibility was shirked by the authority, namely the sheriff’s office,” said Earley.
Now, Tess’ prognosis is looking brighter. There’s still plenty of bark left in Tess’ bite and the generosity that saved his partner is enough to make the most veteran of cops believe in Christmas miracles.
“I think maybe these things happen for a reason around Christmas...to make people think there’s a lot of good people in this world.”