Tennis teams providing rewards for new K-9

Trine University tennis teams are helping provide chew toys for Steuben County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Abe.

One of the 2-year-old Belgian Malinois-German shepherd mix’s favorite rewards is a tennis ball to chew, according to Deputy Alex Harris, Abe’s handler. The pair began working as a team at the department on Monday, June 4.

Tennis balls become too worn out for Trine’s teams to use after about a month of use, so Erin Kolar, head coach for the university’s men’s and women’s teams, is donating tennis balls for Harris to use as rewards once the team is done with them.

Harris and Abe stopped by campus Thursday, June 7, to receive a bag of balls from Kolar. She previously had donated another bag of balls for Abe.