Canterbury Students Penny War Benefits K-9 Unit

For his part, nine-year-old Ike didn't realize he had such a fan base in the community.

Quietly toiling his days away as the Crystal Lake Police Department's lead, well, only K-9 canine keeps a German Shepherd busy. There are burglars to track down, school lockers to sniff, and fires that occasionally require him to run into burning buildings when no one else can.

But when Ike and his fellow officers at the police department heard what the students at Canterbury School had done for him, well, that was better than a rawhide bone.

On Tuesday, students and teachers presented Ike, Chief David Linder, K-9 officer Joshua Marshall and Community Service Officer Kimberley Shipbaugh with a check for $1,170 during a special end-of-the-year assembly at Canterbury, 875 Canterbury Lane.

"The kids voted on who they wanted to donate the money to," said fourth-grade teacher Erin Wyman, who along with fourth-grade teacher Stephanie Saunders oversaw the fundraiser.

"The kids wanted to help the community, and they wanted to help Ike," Sauders said.

The fundraiser started last fall when the Canterbury Congress, the school's student council, decided to hold a penny war. At first, Canterbury's 503 students, who hale from Cary and Crystal Lake, dropped their change in small jugs in their classrooms.

But as the jugs started filling up, the teachers placed larger containers in the school library, and the competition pit grade level against grade level. In the end, second-grade won the penny war, collecting more than $600 for Ike. 

Chief Linder said the children's donation certainly will help. K-9 units need extra equipment, like a bullet-proof vest for Ike. There are also ongoing training and veterinarian bills.

"This money will definitely help with a lot of different expenses," Linder said. "Plus, Ike's getting a little old, and we have a new puppy named Ace coming to the department soon."

Shepbaugh, who served as liaison with the teachers, knew the kids were busy raising money for their beloved police dog. She had no idea the students would raise that much money. Even the teachers were surprised when they tallied the money.

"We thought maybe we'd raise enough to buy some dog food," Wyman said, with a laugh. "We had no idea the kids would raise this much."