University of Illinois Police mourn loss of retired K9 officer

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - The University of Illinois Police Department announced that retired K9 Officer Chewy died Thursday morning.

UIPD shared in a Facebook post that Chewy was born in March 2015 in Slovakia, and officially joined the department in June of the following year.

Chewy's partner Officer Doug Beckman worked to keep the U of I campus and Champaign County safe before their retirement last December.

"Those who knew Chewy knew that he loved his job, would always bark along to squad car sirens, would definitely get his slobber on you, and, above all else, would do anything to protect Doug. Chewy was a fiercely loyal companion, a cherished member of the Beckman and UIPD families and Doug’s best friend," UIPD said in the post.

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