First, let’s congratulate Alona, who works at Mccarran International Airport in Las Vegas, who is this year’s winner of the TSA’s Cutest Canine contest.
Here are some of the other working dogs at airports around the country who got some extra love and attention on National Dog Day too. All winners.
Did we miss the pups at your favorite airport? Let us know and we’ll add them to the list.
Here’s something cute and furry for a Friday.
National Dog Day is coming up on August 26. And in preparation for that holiday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is having a contest to pick the cutest canine from its roster of more than 1000 dogs trained to sniff out explosives.
Four furry finalists were in the running, chosen from those nominated by their handlers.
To narrow it down to a winner, the first match-up took place on Wednesday, August 19 between two of the finalists.
And it looks like Kajila from Honolulu’s Daniel Inouye International Airport (HNL) won that round.
On Thursday, August 20, the public was asked to pick their favorite between pup Lexa-Alexey from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Ron, who works at Oakland International Airport (OAK).
Voting in this second round ends early Friday morning.
On Friday, August 21, the winners of the first two rounds will go head to head, with the overall winner to be announced on August 26, National Dog Day.
You can vote on TSA’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
TSA’s explosives detection canines have serious job descriptions.
They’re tasked with screening passengers, cargo, mass-transit, and maritime systems, and they support other security missions. Each dog is specially trained and paired with a TSA handler.
If you see these dogs at the airport, you may want to pet them.
Don’t do that.
TSA says that “While TSA canines are sociable, they are working dogs and they should not be petted or fed by anyone except their handlers.”