Photo courtesy of Officer R.D. Cox

Roanoke police Officer R.D. Cox and Boca worked together as a team until Boca's retirement in May.

Editor's note: Boca served with Officer R.D. Cox. Cox's name was misspelled in print; it has been corrected in this online version.

For 10 years, he sniffed out explosives, guns and even the bad guys.

And when the bad guys ran, Boca, a Roanoke police dog, charged after them, sinking his teeth into their flesh.

"I never had to motivate him to work," said his handler, Officer R.D. Cox.

Boca, 12, a Belgian Malinois, died last week from cancer.

Boca came to the department in 1999 and was the first bomb-sniffing dog in the department -- and one of the first in the state, Cox said.

His nose led detectives to weapons and explosives, and cleared the airport hangar when dignitaries including Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama came to Roanoke.

He once found a burglar hiding under a bed, and smelled his way to a man hiding from police in a basement crawl space.

And when the vice unit was investigating a man who they believed was receiving stolen explosives, Boca found 40 sticks of dynamite in the suspect's house, Cox said.

His excellent sniffing skills, and his willingness to run toward danger, made it easier for police to do their jobs and stay out of harm's way.

"Having him as a partner, it was wonderful," Cox said. "He was always going to be there for me, and he proved it time and time again."

That also was a comfort to Cox's wife and children, who welcomed Boca into their family, even after he chewed through a door at their home.

When Cox got dressed for work, he said Boca paced around the bedroom, antsy to hop in the police cruiser and start patrolling.

After Cox retired Boca in May, he said he had to sneak out the back door to keep from upsetting his former partner.

Cox now patrols with Glock, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois. Glock also lives with the Coxes.

In July, Boca's veterinarian discovered that he had lymphoma, a type of cancer. Cox decided not to treat the cancer because of Boca's age.

"When we finally laid him to rest, he'd earned it," Cox said.