A K-9 named Rak should be working to help the Winfield Police Department track down bad guys, especially those with illegal drugs in their possession.

Instead, Rak, retired due to an injury and reportedly living with a local foster family, has created a stir of controversy that has remained abuzz on social media and throughout town.

Concerns about the K-9’s whereabouts even opened up a line of questioning at the Winfield Town Council meeting earlier this week.

Debbie Pilsudski, a friend of K-9 donor Marie Buckingham, asked questions during the public portion of the meeting that were quickly turned down and termed inappropriate.

“Where is he (Rak) and how can the matter be settled?” Pilsudski asked.

Town Attorney David Austgen called questions about the K-9 during public comment “highly inappropriate.”

Town Council President Zack Beaver instructed her to tell Buckingham to have her attorney contact the town attorney to discuss the issue further.

“We’ve gone up and down with this. If something has changed, I encourage her lawyer to contact the town attorney,” Beaver said.

Town Councilman Tim Clayton, at the end of the meeting on Tuesday, described Rak as healthy and happy but declined to provide the name of the fostering family, citing legal reasons at this time.

Clayton did confirm an earlier report that Rak’s tail had to be amputated after it was injured while he had been staying in an area animal shelter.

Buckingham, a Lakes of the Four Seasons resident, donated Rak to the police department at a Winfield Town Council meeting nearly four years ago.

She hoped that Rak, a trained black Labrador retriever, would be able to serve with the police department for 10 years or more instead of the 18 months he served.

“They (town officials)  have mentally and physically destroyed the dog. He had an 8-10 year career ahead of him and they destroyed that,” she said.

Buckingham said she was able to obtain a 75-page medical report on Rak when he was taken to the Hobart Animal Clinic by Clayton and family members, and the dog’s condition sounds far from healthy.

She said the report from the clinic shows Rak’s tail had to be amputated twice, he had behavioral problems, he had ear infections, and an E. coli infection.

In addition, Rak was down to 49 pounds when a healthy weight for him should have been 60-80 pounds.

“He (Rak) never had any of those issues before that,” she said.

Given all the events that have taken place since the K-9 was turned over to police, Buckingham is attempting to set the record straight, on her part, and believes town officials haven’t been above board with her when it comes to answering questions about Rak’s whereabouts even now.

She also believes town officials have mischaracterized her and the purposes of her foundation and even lied on a Winfield Town Facebook statement posted earlier this summer, referring to her as “one of the numerous donors.”

The town statement provided a history of what had taken place within the police department, including that of Rak’s handler, Sgt. Stephen Garpow, who was placed on leave at about the same time as former Town Marshal Dan Ball.

Both resigned late last year.

The town’s online statement read, in part:

“In the intervening period, one of the numerous donors who helped raise funds to contribute to the initiative of adding a K-9 began posting online that she was Rak’s owner prompting the town council to reach out to investigate what she meant by the statement.”

“The donor also stated that she wanted Rak returned to her and believed that she was entitled to $16,000 by virtue of her donation efforts, the frustration she faced by the former officers and the purported contract,” the town’s statement read in part.

Buckingham said reference to her as one of the donors was not accurate.

“Rak belongs to my foundation. He was dedicated and not donated,” Buckingham said.

She also points to a copy of the Jan. 25, 2022, Winfield Town Council minutes, which state: “49 percent of Rak belongs to the Winfield Police Department and 51 percent belongs to Marie to ensure that Rak will stay to serve Winfield.”

Winfield town officials have refuted her ownership claim in the statement posted on their website: “As of this date, no contract has been found or presented either in town records or by the donor to support her request for a return of the donation made to the K-9 fund.”

Buckingham said she helped raise the $16,000 to train Rak and is seeking at least some compensation for the money she raised and not the entire amount, as town officials have said.

“It’s not about the money, but it’s the principle. They (town officials) breached the contract,” she said.

Buckingham said the purpose of her setting up the foundation was to honor her late son and to keep drugs off the street.

She said she had promised her son, Ryan Adam Kelly, “you will never be forgotten” on his deathbed and just before he was taken off life support.

She said she took up the cause against drugs after her son was hit from behind by an impaired truck driver on Nov. 19, 2010, while driving to work.

Her son died six days later, on Thanksgiving, after spending nearly a week in a coma. Buckingham said she founded VOID Inc., or Victims of Impaired Driving, the Ryan Adam Kelly Foundation, early on after her son’s death.

Since the Jan. 28 Winfield Town Council, when Buckingham inquired about the dog’s whereabouts and threatened possible legal action, communications have been between Brett Galvan, Buckingham’s attorney, and town officials, including the town’s attorney.

In a recent statement, Galvan said: “Ms. Buckingham worked tirelessly, without any interest or personal or monetary gain, to provide a tribute for her late son. The stress this has put on her and her family is tremendous and uncalled for. One minute the town was open and eager to resolve this issue and the next minute it was silent.”

Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/11/dispute-over-former-winfield-k-9-continues/