Police K9 Memorial Possible in Oak Forest

OAK FOREST, IL - The Oak Forest Police Department is making an attempt to add a painted German Shepherd statue as a permanent addition to the city by participating in the CPD Memorial Foundation’s public art initiative.

According to Police Officer Jason Vodnik, the department plans to place the statue in an area between the police station and City Hall to serve as an Oak Forest Police K9 Memorial.

The public art project in the city of Chicago this year will include the placement of numerous German Shepherd statues at various locations throughout the city. Groups and organizations are in the fundraising stage of purchasing the works of art, which will all be returned to the groups after Labor Day weekend.

So far, as of Tuesday evening, the Oak Forest Police Association has raised $415 of a $2,500 goal on Fundrazr. Vodnik says that the total amount should be raised by June 1 to allow the artist to have enough time to complete the work in time for Chicago’s deadline.

Related: Oak Forest K9 Cop Orry Retires

If the campaign is successful and Oak Forest gets one of the 200 statues, it will be displayed somewhere downtown beginning on July 23. But after Labor Day, it will find its permanent home in Oak Forest.

Vodnik says the idea for a police K9 memorial in Oak Forest came about a decade ago from his K9 handler predecessor Sgt. Scott Durano.

“He had scaled drawings and the perfect spot,” Vodnik said, referring to the area directly in front of the City Hall property where there are currently just a few decorative stones.

With the spot already selected, it wasn’t hard to find an artist to work on the project either. Thomas Ceska, an active Oak Forest resident and owner of the Sign Group based out of his home, agreed to paint the statue.

“He’s already painting a few other dogs in this project,” Vodnik said.

The K9 tribute would be a perfect fit in Oak Forest because of the community’s strong support for its three past K9 units: K9 Dakota, K9 Orry and K9 Pitt.

All three were “beloved and loyal members of our department,” a statement on the Fundrazr page reads.

Orry - Vodnik’s K9 partner - was a “great dog (who) bolstered the community nature of a K9.”

“He could go from playing with kids to going after a bad guy or finding dope in a second if we gave him the signal,” Vodnik remembered of his partner who retired in 2012 and died earlier this year.

The location of the memorial would be symbolically perfect, Vodnik adds.

“We’d have the K9 watching over the entrance of the police department,” he said, noting potential future plans to expand the memorial.

Donate to the effort to bring an Oak Forest Police K9 Memorial to the city here

Photo via Fundrazr