Residents of Winnebago County are contributing money to train a third police dog for the sheriff's department.
The addition would allow the department to have a dog on duty at all times, a goal of Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana.
The Rockford Area Crime Stoppers organization has established a GoFundMe page to collect donations. The goal is $76,000 to cover training for the dog and a handler, a kennel and retrofitting a police car.
Patrons and staff of two taverns raised $5,000 for the effort. Brad Fosberg, owner of Oscar's Pub and Grill and Jax Pub, says customers are contributing because they're worried about crime. Fosberg gave the donation to Crime Stoppers this week.
