TROY, MI — A man messed with the wrong K-9 unit dog and his handlers and ended up paying the consequences. A 40-year-old North Carolina man had his vehicle impounded and now faces a misdemeanor citation after reportedly stealing the toy of a Troy Police Department K-9.

According to a Facebook post by the Troy Police Department, it was about 7:30 p.m. April 5 when officers were in the field behind the Holiday Inn Express, laying scent tracks to train police canines. The man was reportedly shouting at police from his hotel window, demanding to know what they were doing. The K-9 officer explained the training and told him not to touch the police property. They carried on with their scent tracking but when K-9 Eli went to retrieve his last toy in the tracks, it was missing - not where the police left it, they said.

The officers found the man's white Ford Ecoline van parked in the lot and could see the K-9's toy in the cup holder, they said. While his car was being impounded he came out to see what was happening and police issued him a misdemeanor citation for larceny of police property.