Franklin Police raises money for aid programs through the sale of stuffed dogs

FRANKLIN — When children meet “Frankie,” the police therapy and comfort dog, they often ask his handler, Officer David Gove, if they can have the dog.

Now they can. Somehow.

“The children are always asking if they can take Frankie home or volunteer to babysit him,” Gove said. “We decided to get these plush Frankies and now they can take Frankie home with them.”

The Franklin Police Department sells stuffed Frankies for $20 and Frankie police patches for $10. All proceeds benefit the police department’s Community Service Unit programs, such as the leadership academy for children it operates, as well as the care of Frankie and Ben Franklin, the police department’s other comfort dog.

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The department took in Frankie early last year and the brown Labrador has become extremely popular with local students. Gove began having Frankie stickers made for the children, who couldn’t get enough of them.

“The kids are crazy about the stickers — we can’t keep them in stock,” he said. “We have to keep reordering them. I just got 1,000 stickers and used 700 in three days.”