CROWN POINT | Crown Point's weekly Car Cruise, which takes place Thursdays through September around the historic downtown square, featured a Crown Point K-9 Fund T-shirt Sale last week.

Each black T-shirt is $25 and all proceeds go towards the purchase of future Crown Point Police Department K-9 dogs and equipment. Donations are welcome, with checks and cash gratefully accepted.

UDO, Crown Point Police Department K-9, was honored as the July Employee of the Month. The 11- year-old, German Shepherd retired June 14 after serving his handler, Office Chuck Sprague, the police department and city for the past eight years with a remarkable level of skill and effort.

"When any department gets a police K-9, they hope that it will help in protecting the officers, they hope that it will aid the officers in locating drugs and those people who choose to try to elude us, they hope that it will find that one missing child. If a K-9 is a good at any one of those things, it is a successful dog. Sometimes, a police department gets lucky and a K-9 is good in all of those areas, that, most assuredly, was UDO," said Police Chief Pete Land.

"It's been a wonderful 10 years and I am honored he has been my partner," said Sprague.

The T-shirt sale was sponsored by the Crown Point FOP and the City of Crown Point.

For more information about the K-9 program, contact Land at (219) 662-3247.

- For The Times