Richard K. Chapman

Spanky's Story Richard K. Chapman

In the 1980's The State of Florida faced a huge drug trafficking problem. One solution was the formation of the Florida Highway Patrol's K-9 Program. I was fortunate enough to participate in the Pilot program. The F. H. P. began with four K-9/Handler teams. This story maps the career of my K-9, Abbey and me. Together we made an unstoppable team, receiving two State Cabinet Resolutions from two Governors as well as many other numerous awards. Unstoppable that is, until we were poisoned by some drugrunners on the Florida Turnpike. We set precedents on many levels obtaining drugs as well as precedents for other officers around the country of how we were poisoned. Abbey lost her life. I had years of sickness before getting a liver and kidney transplant. All the while, I was still proud to say I was a State Trooper. This story touches our war on drugs as well as the fight for my life and the experiences that you have with a transplant and how it affects everyone close to you. I hope that through this book someone can benefit from even the smallest bit of information from all of my experiences.