Lake County Sheriff's Office Introduces Newest Canine, Ryker, Who Will Be 5th Canine On Department

By LMCS Staff Report, the Lake & McHenry County Scanner:

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office introduced their newest canine, Ryker, who is a two-year-old German Shepherd and has joined the department after canine Diesel died last month.

Ryker will be assigned to Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Craig Somerville, a veteran canine handler who lost his partner, canine Diesel, to an aggressive form of cancer on September 11.

Diesel died days before his eighth birthday, the sheriff’s office said.

Ryker and Somerville recently finished their basic training consisting of canine psychology, obedience, agility, tracking, scent detection and more.

Ryker and Somerville are currently deployed as a two-deputy unit on the afternoon shift.

Ryker will join sheriff’s office canines Dax, Duke, Danno and Boomer.

The canines are deployed hundreds of times a year to look for missing endangered people, search for individuals who fled from a crime, detect drugs being trafficked and other various situations.

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They frequently assist other Lake County law enforcement agencies.

The canine teams also commonly appear at community events, school presentations and neighborhood gatherings.

“We will always remember Canine Diesel, who will hold a very special place in our hearts and the hearts of the Lake County Community. While we know Canine Diesel can never be replaced, we know Canine Ryker will have a very successful career being partnered with Deputy Somerville who is a terrific canine handler,” Sheriff John D. Idleburg said.

“I continually hear from the community how much they value our canines, and we are striving to have the most robust canine program in the region,” Idleburg added.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.