Johnsburg search-and-rescue dog dies after early medical retirement

A search-and-rescue dog died Sunday evening at her home in Johnsburg after her early medical retirement from the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District, the agency said.

K-9 Irie retired from the fire protection district after five years of service, the district said in a statement. A well-decorated search dog, she responded to over 40 requests for service all across the Chicago suburbs, with numerous finds of people lost or in distress.

The dog held many certifications in tracking, trailing, article search, and obedience and was a type 1 disaster and live find canine for the State of Illinois’s Urban Search and Rescue’s Task Force 1, according to the statement.

K-9 Irie and her handler, firefighter paramedic Michael Vitale, were among the founding members of the K-9 and Drone Search and Rescue Strike Team, a multi-jurisdictional team that responds throughout northern Illinois to assist agencies in locating lost or missing individuals.

“Thank you for your dedicated service Irie!!” the agency said in a statement. “We will miss you! The squirrels have no clue what’s coming for them up there!”

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West Chicago firefighter paramedic Todd Baseggio holds the flag for K-9 Irie, a search-and-rescue dog who died Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022, at her home in Johnsburg after her early medical retirement from the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District. (Alex Vucha for Shaw Local)