TROY, MI - A North Carolina man learned a harsh lesson about stealing a police dog's toy when officers came looking to get it back.

Troy Police said they were doing K-9 training work in the field behind a Holiday Inn Express on the evening of April 5 when the theft occurred. They officers were laying scent tracks for the police dogs to follow, and an officer left one dog's toy at the end of the scent track for the canine to find when his tracking work was done.

"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 canines and advised him not to touch the police property he left behind in the field," police said in a department post on Facebook today.

The officer started the dog on his tracking exercise. The K-9 did a good job following the scent trail, but when the dog got to the end, the toy was gone.

The officer did a little digging and learned the upset hotel guest was a 40-year-old man from High Point, N.C. When the officer found the man's white Ford Econoline van in the parking lot, the police dog's toy could be seen sitting in the van's cup holder.

"While the vehicle was being impounded, the 40-year-old male suspect came out, inquiring as to what was occurring. The suspect was issued a Misdemeanor Citation for Larceny of Police Property and Police Canine Eli got his toy ball back."

Troy Police say Eli was happy to get his ball back.

Good boy, Eli.