Barron, the K-9 who joined NEIU’s police department (NEIU PD) on July 11, 2024, would walk the halls of the main campus, greeting students and receiving pats from those who are on campus. Barron was usually with officers and would occasionally spend time in the control room of the department. Barron was working towards his Canine Good Citizen Certification (CGC) from the American Kennel Club.
“His assignment is community relations and he is excited to meet everyone on campus,” NEIU PD stated in a Facebook post on July 18,2024.
“I haven’t seen people smile in a very long time.” Danelle Calomino, an NEIU student said, “I myself have not, and every time I saw him, he just brought a smile to my face. I think he made a lot of people happy and a lot of people feel comforted.”
This is not the first time a student has reported this feeling of comfort around Barron. Jocelyn Valencia, a NEIU student and peer mentor said, “I think he’s a cute dog that for the majority of the time students get excited to see. I know he can be super friendly and I have even gone up a few times to pet him.”
Barron had seemingly cemented himself into the NEIU community and it seemed like this would be his forever home.
Barron was last seen the evening of the 25th of October at the Nest, according to multiple sources.
“The last time I saw Barron was probably 2-3 weeks ago when [NEIU PD] came to do a wellness check on a resident,” Valencia said, having last seen him at the Nest, NEIU’s student housing.
When the Independent asked NEIU Police Chief Joe Przybyla where Barron had gone off, Przybyla replied in an email, “After much thought and consideration, we determined that Barron would be happiest living in a home with a family and made the decision to make that happen. We thank everyone who loved and cared for Barron while he was at NEIU.”
Where did Barron go?
Barron was taken back to Medical Mutts in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he was adopted from just a few months prior. This was confirmed by a listing on petfinder.com with a picture of Barron getting pets from NEIU students in Village Square.
In a call with the Independent, Medical Mutts said that Barron came back to their shelter healthy after being adopted by NEIU PD and currently a few families are reported to be looking into adopting him.
