If there’s one thing this man has learned, it’s to never mess with a police dog.
Police dogs, which are often of the Belgian Malinois or Dutch/German Shepherd breed, are heavily trained and are excellent partners to law-enforcement agents.
In most countries where police dogs are being used, they are treated with the utmost respect.
They are considered authentic members of the police force.
They complement their human partners in a variety of ways and, thanks to their natural abilities, some tasks are absolutely perfect for a K9.
Searching for bombs and narcotics, for example, is something that these four-footers excel at, and they can also be used to find missing people.
Being a police K9 requires immense focus, drive, and agility.
Just like every officer, they regularly undergo training.
What better way to train a dog than by giving him treats and rewards when they’ve accomplished a task successfully?
The canines don’t exactly get a paycheck at the end of each month but, luckily, they’re motivated to do their job thanks to the incredibly powerful bond they develop with their partners.
Of course, the promise of delicious treats doesn’t hurt, either.
Meet Eli, a six-year-old senior K9 officer.
He has been working almost his entire life at the Michigan Police Department.
A couple of years ago, Eli and one of his partners were in the middle of a large training exercise and used the open field behind a Holiday Inn Express hotel.
One of the hotel guests spotted the K9 and immediately became disgruntled.
He wanted the dog to leave the (public) field.
Eli’s partner was simply laying scent tracks that were required for the exercise, but then the disgruntled man started yelling from his hotel window.
Calmly, the accompanying officer told him they were doing an official routine training exercise. He couldn’t help but take note of the man’s rude behavior.
He advised him not to touch any property left in the field.
The ball was left as a reward for Eli when he finished tracking the scent for his training.
“At the end of the track, the officer left one on the Police Canine’s Dog Toy that he would be searching for. While leaving the area, an unknown subject from the hotel was yelling at the officer from his hotel room through an open window, demanding to know what he was doing. The K-9 Officer explained that he was training Police Canine’s and advised him not to touch the police property he left behind in the field. The officer left to start the Canine Track some distance away. When the Police Canine successfully followed the scent, the dog toy was not where it was left,” the Troy Police Department wrote on their Facebook page.
K9 Eli enjoyed time with family and friends this holiday season. We hope you did too! #TPDShift2
Posted by Troy Police Department – Troy, Michigan onMonday, January 2, 2017
Eli was understandably upset when his toy wasn’t there.
The grumpy man stole his toy and put it in his van.
Being disrespectful towards a K9 officer is a very bad idea, and that’s something that the man later realized as well.
K9 ELI RECEIVES NEW BULLETPROOF VEST: Troy Police Department K9 Eli has recently acquired a brand new bulletproof vest…
Posted by Troy Police Department – Troy, Michigan onWednesday, January 4, 2017
“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.”
Eli’s partner called a tow truck to have the van impounded.
When the man noticed that his vehicle was ready to be towed, he approached the police officer and was handed a Misdemeanor Citation for Larceny of Police Property.
The police department’s Facebook post about the theft of police property went viral in the local community and was shared over two thousand times!
Even though most comments were in full support of the police officer, there were also some concerns which the department was more than happy to address:
“Some additional information to consider for those with concerns: the man that stole the ball was warned by a uniformed officer that police K9 training was in progress and the ball was part of the training; he was told not to touch the ball; after officers observed the ball in his vehicle, officers knocked on his door repeatedly in order to speak to him and recover the ball; officers only began to impound the car after repeated attempts to make contact with the man; the man finally came out when he saw his vehicle being towed; the man admitted to stealing the ball; he returned the ball; the car was not towed; he was issued a misdemeanor ticket in lieu of arrest. Please note that theft of police property is an arrestable offense and one that typically results in arrest. Thank you.”
This guy definitely messed with the wrong dog!
“If there’s any other person in the world that is thinking about stealing a ball from a police K9, hopefully this true “tail” discourages them,” the Police Department joked.
See the department’s original post below!
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THEFT OF POLICE PROPERTY: 4/5/2018, 7:30 PM, K-9 Officers were in the field behind the Holiday Inn Express, laying…
Posted by Troy Police Department – Troy, Michigan onWednesday, April 18, 2018
