Deputy Writes Children’s Book About Police Dog Life

Watertown, NY – A children’s book written by a Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy was released in October and chronicles the life of his K9 partner, a Belgian Malinois dog named Abel who is destined for greatness.

K9 Abel joined the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in December of 2016 and was named after the first-ever sheriff of Jefferson County, Dr. Abel Sherman, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department said in a welcome to the dog on their official Facebook page.

Sheriff Sherman was the top cop in Jefferson County from 1805 to 1807.

K9 Abel was partnered with Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffery Froelich and in January of 2017, the two began their training at the New York State Police K9 training program in Cooperstown, according to the sheriff’s departments Facebook page.

By the time they graduated in December of that year, K9 Abel was certified for drug detection, tracking, and handler protection.

Deputy Froelich told WWNY that he was bored one night in March during the pandemic lockdown so he started to write a children’s book about K9 Abel.

The story is told from the perspective of the dog and has a storyline that Deputy Froelich said he thought a lot of children could relate to.

“They have to go to school, he had to go to school. They have to do homework, he has to do homework. They have to practice their things and he has to practice his things too, so the kids can really relate to it,” the deputy told WWNY.

The book, titled “I Am Abel,” was released by Dorrance Publishing and is available here on Amazon.

Deputy Froelich and K9 Abel have donated the proceeds from the book to a non-profit organization called Protecting K9 Heroes that is dedicated to providing ballistic vests and first aid kits to police dogs and their handlers across the country, WWNY reported.

K9 Abel is Deputy Froelich’s second K9 partner, according to his biography in the book.

The deputy, originally from Baltimore, Maryland, spent 20 years in the U.S. Army and retired in 2008 before he joined the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

After three years on patrol, he was selected for his department’s elite K9 unit.

Deputy Froelich is a certified New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services K9 trainer, according to his biography.

He also manages and coaches kids’ baseball in his community.