University Police Officer Craig Hodson has found a partner so qualified, he almost lost him to the Los Angeles Police Department. Like Hodson, Boyka is resolute in his job - assertive in chasing down perpetrators and persistent in searching out drugs. And in much the same way Hodson quietly patrols the streets around Ball State, Boyka sits in an unmarked cruiser with his cold, dark eyes scanning for suspicious activity.
But unlike Hodson, Boyka received his training not from a police academy, but one of the world's most elite canine training schools. And unlike the officer with whom he has spent the past year and a half, Boyka was born with a nose for crime.
Imported from Belgium, Boyka is a Belgian Malimois with a Dutch name that means "little boy." The four-year-old dog resembles a German Shepherd, but is more agile and durable, Hodson said.
As the duo begins their shift Friday night, Hodson, a six-year veteran of the UPD explains the reason behind Boyka's success.
"He's got a lot of drive," Hodson said. "All he wants to do is work"
Boyka is the UPD's only canine and the first dog Hodson has ever worked with as a K-9 officer. But the two have racked up four felony arrests and too many drug busts to count, Hodson said.
Boyka is trained to sniff out marijuana, cocaine, heroine, methamphetamines and all derivatives of those drugs.
"He has picked up a scent (of marijuana) from four or five cars away before," Hodson said. "You just have to use the wind when you work them."
Aside from busting drug users, Boyka is trained to do patrol work and track criminals on the run.
Boyka scored a 432 on his training tests at Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana. Hodson said he begged Boyka's trainer, Jon Erwin, to let the UPD have him. Hodson said that a score of 400 is excellent, and he expected the dog would go to a much larger, metropolitan department.
"Hodson has a very controlled dog," said Erwin. "Boyka is very obedient and very social at the same time. He'll do his job when the time comes."
But Hodson said there is room for improvement in Boyka's tracking.
"He tracks," Hodson said. "but he doesn't do it as well as he should."
Hodson trains Boyka to chase criminals by "laying down a track." He has an officer walk a path from one point to another and hide Boyka's tennis ball at the end. The dog is then introduced to the scent at the beginning of the track and allowed to follow his nose.
Around 10:30, Hodson met Officer Mark Workman outside of Studebaker West to do some track work. Workman had walked a path by the time Hodson and Boyka arrived.
Workman told Hodson to start Boyka near a bike rack west of the building.
Boyka was gone in an instant, jerking Hodson by a long leather leash. The two crossed a stream and Boyka easily found the tennis ball under a bench across the road from Noyer.
"I try to make it (the track) as real as possible," Workman said. "In a real chase, the perpetrator would've probably avoided the bridge and tried to hide under something."
Hodson explained that the heat amplifies smells and causes runners to sweat more, making the job easier for the K-9 unit.
Boyka is capable of tracking scents up to a few days old, Hodson said, and tracks almost as well on hard surfaces, such as pavement and concrete, as he does on grass.
Back in the car and patrolling the streets, Hodson explained his irregular work as Ball State's only K-9 officer.
"Sometimes we will go two or three days without any calls and then we will have them constantly for two or three days straight," Hodson said.
Friday night was a quiet night.
The 85-pound Boyka dosed occasionally in his cage in the back of the car.
Around midnight Hodson parked his car at the soccer fields near University and Tillotson avenues to let Boyka exercise.
Hodson and Boyka played fetch with a bell-shaped rubber toy. Hodson softly spouted commands to Boyka in Dutch. Hodson said Dutch commands are used so that no one can interfere in controlling the dog.
After a few minutes, Boyka appeared to be slowing down.
"I know he's tired when he lays down and doesn't come back," Hodson said.
Boyka sprawled in the grass as soon as Hodson finished his words.
Early Saturday morning, nearing the end of his shift, Hodson reaches through the cage to pet Boyka's snout.
"How you doing buddy?" he asks. "In a few more hours I'll take you home and you can sleep in the air conditioning."
The camaraderie between Hodson and Boyka does not end at the police department. Boyka lives with Hodson and his other dog, Bear, a shepherd-malamute mix, near Gaston.
Hodson said he spends up to 21 hours a day with Boyka.
"He sleeps in the bed with me," Hodson said. "He's my baby."
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