A memorial plaque honoring Akron, a police dog who served the city of Elburn, Ill., for six years, now hangs in the town’s police headquarters.
The plaque was unveiled during the last week of November. Akron, an 11-year-old black Labrador Retriever, was with the department from 1999 until he was suddenly diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and died in October 2006.
“He was doing well and never showed signs of illness,” Elburn Police Chief Jim Linane told the Courier News of Illinois about Akron’s health before the cancer was diagnosed.
Last year, the police patch that Akron’s handler, now-retired officer Brian Schopp wore on his uniform for 11 years, and the bright yellow patch Akron wore on his bullet-resistant body armor, plus his original canine badge, were made into a glass-framed plaque honoring his service to Elburn.
Schopp, who retired from law enforcement in 2005 after Akron’s cancer was diagnosed, said his canine partner once seized $6,500 in drug money and narcotics. Another time, he detected several bricks of marijuana hidden in a briefcase placed in the trunk of the car, plus $1,400 in cash, he told the Courier News.