By Brian Stanley
For the Bugle
Shorewood’s most recent village board meeting went to the dogs.

Shorewood Mayor Rick Chapman said hello to Officer John Coldwater and his canine partner “Rookie” at the May 28 board meeting. (Photo by Brian Stanley)
Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow presented “Rookie” to formally meet Mayor Rick Chapman and trustees May 28. The state’s attorney’s office used seized drug money to purchase the canine for the Shorewood Police Department. Rookie has been on patrol with Officer John Coldwater for a little more than a year.
“I’ve used drug forfeiture money for lots of different projects (to benefit the community). Dogs like Rookie have to deal with the bad guys,” Glasgow said. “Don’t tell the other dogs, but that is probably the most handsome dog I’ve seen.”
The state’s attorney’s office has funded canine units for a half-dozen Will County police departments.
“We wouldn’t have Rookie if (Glasgow) wasn’t the catalyst for the donation,” Chief Aaron Klima said.
Rookie is a German Short-Haired Pointer who will turn 3 on July 20. He was born in Slovakia and trained in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania as a 1-year-old.
Rookie is trained to detect several different kinds of narcotics and is certified to track people from dropped clothing or articles they were carrying.
Glasgow told the village board another function Rookie has is regularly inspecting schools or other youth facilities for drugs.
“The purpose is not to make an arrest of the juveniles but to intervene if there’s a problem,” he said.
Chapman said Rookie was among his favorite guests to attend a board meeting and was welcome anytime.