In March, 2017, after over two years of research and grant writing by Freetown Police Sergeant Benjamin Levesque and Patrolman Thomas Long, the suggestion of adding a police K-9 to the ranks of the department was provided to Chief of Police Carlton Abbott. With the full support of Chief Abbott, he and Patrolman Long presented the information to then Freetown Board of Selectmen Paul Sadeck, Lisa Pacheco and Robert Jose at open town meeting. After hearing the presentation, the Board voted to fully support the K-9 program and Patrolman Long was selected as the K-9 Handler. A few short weeks later, the department was awarded a grant in the amount of $25,000 by the Stanton Foundation to cover the start-up costs of the program. The Stanton Foundation would later award the department with two more grants totaling $17,000.

On April 8, 2017, the department's first-ever police K-9, a then-one year old German Shepherd Dog, originally named "Larry," was purchased from Northeast K-9 Unlimited in Raynham, MA. Patrolman Long later decided to change the dog's name to "Koda," a name which was voted on by members of the department. K-9 Koda was bred by Alabama Canine in Northport, AL. K-9 Koda's parents, Torr Opavia Hof (father) and Bliss Von Watcher Engel (mother) are both from the Czech Republic and come from long lines of Police and Military Working Dogs from across eastern Europe.

Officer Long and K-9 Koda began patrol dog training with the Boston Police Department on April 19, 2017 and completing the training on July 21, 2017. The pair returned to the Boston Police Department on January 29, 2018 for training and certification as a narcotics detection team on March 9, 2018. As of today, K-9 Koda is a certified dual purpose, patrol and narcotics detection, K-9.

To date, the Freetown Police K-9 Unit is still funded by grants, donations and fundraising efforts and receives minimal funding from the Town of Freetown. Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog has been an integral part in assisting the K-9 Unit to achieve success and has provided the program with a K-9 Kevlar vest, K-9 first aid kits and a training bite suit, equipment valued well over $10,000. All of this is made possible by generous donations and the fundraising conducted by the Vest-a-Dog program. For more information, check out: www.mavestadog.org.

Since the beginning of the K-9 Unit, the Freetown Police K-9 Fund was established to accept donations and conduct fundraising for the program. In addition to donations, the K-9 Fund also has merchandise available for sale including t-shirts, stuffed animal K-9 Koda's, baseball trading cards and FPD K-9 stickers. The hope is to continue to expand the available merchandise in the future. Donations can be sent to: Freetown Police K-9 Fund, P.O. Box 61, E. Freetown, MA 02717.