Photo: reddit / eugeinneds
The TSA’s New Year resolution is to be a tad more public-oriented, at least in regards to the canine force it employs. 2019 will see the agency adopt more droopy-eared dogs for airport security checks, in favor of pointy-eared ones.
As stated during a recent tour of operations at Washington Dulles International Airport northern Virginia, the Transportation Security Administration has found that children generally tend to be scared by pointy-eared dogs during security screenings, as compared to their floppy-eared counterparts. So it will make the change from the former to the latter.
“We’ve made a conscious effort in TSA... to use floppy ear dogs,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said, as cited by the Washington Examiner. “We find the passenger acceptance of floppy ear dogs is just better. It presents just a little bit less of a concern. Doesn’t scare children.”
The 1,200 canines currently in the employ of the TSA belong to breeds like German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois, Labrador Retrievers, German Short-haired Pointers, Wirehaired Pointers, Vizslas, and Golden Retrievers, the publication notes. With the exception of the first two, all the other are sporting or hunting breeds, and they have floppy ears.
Moreover, it doesn’t look like the agency will have to make that big of a change, which would explain why the decision hasn’t been made official on paper yet: of the canines employed, 80 percent are droopy-eared, and only 20 percent have pointy or cone-shaped ears. One third of these dogs is used to scan passengers, in rotation, while the others are used to inspect luggage or airport equipment and planes.
When TSA dogs are not employed at airports across the U.S., they’re lent to other federal agencies, especially in case of emergency, like bomb or terrorist threats. This year will see a considerable number of canines retire from the TSA, which makes this the perfect occasion to start introducing more kid-friendly, droopy-eared pups.
“We’ve made a conscious effort in TSA... to use floppy ear dogs,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said, as cited by the Washington Examiner. “We find the passenger acceptance of floppy ear dogs is just better. It presents just a little bit less of a concern. Doesn’t scare children.”
The 1,200 canines currently in the employ of the TSA belong to breeds like German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois, Labrador Retrievers, German Short-haired Pointers, Wirehaired Pointers, Vizslas, and Golden Retrievers, the publication notes. With the exception of the first two, all the other are sporting or hunting breeds, and they have floppy ears.
Moreover, it doesn’t look like the agency will have to make that big of a change, which would explain why the decision hasn’t been made official on paper yet: of the canines employed, 80 percent are droopy-eared, and only 20 percent have pointy or cone-shaped ears. One third of these dogs is used to scan passengers, in rotation, while the others are used to inspect luggage or airport equipment and planes.
When TSA dogs are not employed at airports across the U.S., they’re lent to other federal agencies, especially in case of emergency, like bomb or terrorist threats. This year will see a considerable number of canines retire from the TSA, which makes this the perfect occasion to start introducing more kid-friendly, droopy-eared pups.
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