6-year-old Eli is the “seniority leader” of the Troy, Michigan Police Department‘s three scent K9s.
On April 5, he was participating in a training exercise in a field behind the local Holiday Inn Express when a disgruntled guest stole his beloved ball.
As a K9 officer was laying scent tracks for Eli, the man yelled from an open hotel window, demanding to know what was going on. The officer told him it was an official training exercise and advised him not to touch the police property left behind in the field.
Working K9s do not receive a paycheck. Their motivation to perform their duties is the powerful bond they share with their handlers and the promise of a treat or favorite toy for a job well done.
For Eli, finding his ball at the end of a scent track is the only prize he requires; but when he completed his task that day, his toy was gone. According to a Troy Police Department Facebook post:
“It was determined that the upset tenant from the hotel yelling at the officer was a 40 year old male from High Point, North Carolina. The officer located the subject’s white Ford Econoline Van parked in the parking lot. The officer looked inside the van and could see the Police Canine’s toy in one of the cup holders.”
Unfortunately for the man, he messed with the wrong dog! As his van was being loaded onto a tow truck to be impounded, he ran outside to confront the officer and was promptly served with a Misdemeanor Citation for Larceny of Police Property.
Eli was of course given his ball back before the van was towed away!
