Working Dogs at Airports

AirSpace Season 11, Episode 6 - Gone to the Dogs

Read the transcript as a PDF.

Emily: I had a follow up, but then I got distracted in how you said Belgian Malinois.

Matt: Yeah. How do you say that? laughs

Emily: Is it maaaaal-uhn-wahhhhh? 

AirSpace theme in then under

Emily: Welcome to AirSpace from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. I'm Emily.

Matt: And I’m Matt, as you're running through the airport to catch your next flight, you may meet some dogs. Maybe those dogs are running through the airport to catch their flight, or maybe at least one of those dogs is on the job.

Emily: Dogs have a few different jobs at airports. The most common are safety dogs in the TSA, but a lot of airports have therapy dogs, some have agriculture detection dogs and we even caught up with a couple of dogs who have a very unique job at one West Virginia airport.

Matt: We learned all about these canine careers. So today is take your human to work day here on AirSpace sponsored by Lockheed Martin.

AirSpace theme up and out

Emily: Seeing dogs at airports is probably my favorite part of flying, and I realize most of those are not working dogs, but you do see a lot of working dogs, both with passengers and with professionals at the airport. And so today we're gonna talk about all the different airport dog jobs that we know of, which are four different airport dog jobs. But if you know about other airport dog jobs, please let us know. Bonus points if there's pictures.

Matt, what is the first kind of dog job that comes to mind when you are thinking about flying? When you are flying? What's the most common dog you see beyond a passenger dog?

Matt: Yeah, so the dogs I think of most are the dogs that are there to keep us safe. They're the ones that are using those super powerful discerning noses that dogs have in order to detect dangerous materials like explosives. And those are the dogs that are trained at the TSA’s Canine Training Center in Texas that are handled by local law enforcement and TSA agents in the airport.

Emily: I love a dog in uniform. And I particularly enjoy seeing these kinds of dogs at airports because I know they're working and I know they're busy, but once in a while I'll see a dog in training.

Because part of the training process, right, is they're bringing younger dogs into the airports to start the more advanced parts of their training. But when they get to do playtime, because working dogs always get an extensive amount of playtime to keep them happy and healthy. Um, and so I love it when I get to see a working dog take off that little vest and get to play ball.

Matt: Yeah. And you know, those dogs are highly trained dogs, each of which has gone through an 11 week training course in order to learn what they're doing as well as the handlers, right? They go through these training courses together so that by the time they come out of training, they know how to identify the behavior of the dog when it's actually identifying something.

And, you know, honestly, there's a lot of dogs working in the airport that we never see. Most of them are actually working behind the scenes, sniffing luggage and looking for, for things that they might need to go through extra screening. And the ones that we see out in, in the airport, like among passengers as we're sort of traveling through, those are ones that have received even more training and their handlers have received even more training so that they can actually interact with us, the public as we, you know, go through the course of our journey.

Emily: Matt, what do you know about the training facility in itself? 

Matt: Yeah, so the main training facility is in San Antonio, Texas, and there they have mockups of airports and airplanes and other transportation facility situations, right, the, the places where things might happen. So they're not actually being trained in real airports, but they're getting used to the ways that airports work and the layouts of airports.

And, you know, they, they have mock terminals, security checkpoints, baggage claim, uh, the interior of the aircraft, all of this stuff that we think of as part of these modern airports, which are, you know, honestly, airports are kind of like miniature cities, right? They've got restaurants, they've got stores, they've got trains, they've got, you know, all kinds of things. And so the dogs have to learn how to maneuver through all of these different environments. And that's where these mock-ups scenarios become important.

So we should note, right, that the TSA is not just in airports. So these dogs aren't only working in airports, they are working in bus terminals and maybe at, um, ports and other places, anywhere really where transportation is taking place. This is where these dogs might be called upon to work.

Emily: And I have to imagine dogs that are being trained for these kinds of safety jobs, they're mostly paying attention to smells? I would expect to be their sort of primary tool that they're using. But just like you mentioned, airports are small cities, which means you have the smells of people, the smells of food in restaurants, and these dogs need to be able to not only filter through all of those smells, but they need to be really good at identifying which smells they're looking for so that they're not distracted. And that means getting a lot of exposure for a lot of stimuli.

Matt: Yeah. So, you know, after some training in these mock situations, the dogs actually are brought out into more sort of real world, uh, venues. So they may spend some time in training at the, uh, San Antonio International Airport. They may go to local shopping malls or to where the San Antonio Spurs play the, the Frost Bank Center there in San Antonio.

And, you know, they also go out into the bus terminals for the local transit system. So, you know, they first learn how to identify those smells, and then they get taken into more and more complex environments, as you said, filled with lots of activity and lots of other smells so that they can hone that special skillset to where they're no longer distracted by other things.

Emily: This is a really extensive training process and there's a lot of purebred dogs that go into the program, but there are some dogs that don't make it through the program and they flunk out. And it's okay because failure is sometimes an option, and we know that lots of successes come out of failures even if you're a dog.

And so if you are really excited about the kind of dogs that go into this training program and this training program in particular, dogs who don't pass through the program or dogs that have retired out of the program are available for adoption through the TSA’s Canine Adoption Program. And while the humans involved have to meet some strict requirements in their homes as well as providing transportation for the adopted dog back to their forever home, um, from San Antonio. These dogs are available in many cases for folks across the country to bring these amazing pups into their homes.

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Emily: So we covered safety because safety is the first thing. Safety, fun, then learning. So once you’re safe in an airport, airports can be really stressful places even when you know you're safe. And so we find that there's a group of other dogs working at airports who are there for the passengers in the form of therapy dogs.

Matt: Yeah, you're really not allowed to pet or cuddle the, uh, TSA dogs, which is always, you know, I find that difficult. But the therapy dogs are there for exactly that purpose so that you can pet and cuddle a dog if you're feeling stressed out about your flight being canceled or delayed or making your connection when you get to wherever it is, you're going in between where you are and where you want to be. So these are the dogs that you actually get to give a little love to and get a little love back in return.

Emily: We find therapy dogs in all kinds of working environments. I feel like I've always wanted a dentist that had the golden retriever that would sit on you while you were having your teeth cleaned. But instead of talking to a dentist therapy dog, we caught up with one handler/owner of airport therapy dogs who volunteers at the Denver International Airport.

Pam: Ok, uh, Pamela Baird. I am an RN and I have a, the have, well, I had two therapy dogs. I now have one, and I work at DIA CATS Program, which is the Canine Airport Therapy Squad, which is fun and I've been doing it since 2019 and my dog is Kepler and he is, loves it, so we have a good time there.

Matt: Yeah. And of course the name Kepler is, you know, a really good name for a dog in general, but a great name for a dog for us at AirSpace. You know, Kepler, the famous, uh, German astronomer who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and of course, Kepler's dad or the dog that, uh, Pam had previously was called Tycho.

Of course, who, you know, Kepler went to work with before Kepler came into his own was Tycho Brahe. And, you know, very fittingly, they've adopted another dog, a new sibling that's called Hubble, uh, who's now going through therapy dog training. 

All three of these dogs, by the way, were golden retrievers, which if you don't know, are like one of the lovingest, uh, you know, breeds of dogs you can imagine. They are some of the most easygoing and lovable dogs.

Emily: But Tycho's nose is okay. 

Matt: Right

Emily: I was trying to make a joke 'cause Tycho Brahe had his nose cut off.

Matt: Right. Yeah. Famously Tycho Brahe's nose was cut off in a duel, the actual Tycho Brahe, the historic Tycho Brahe, but the dog Tycho had a good nose, yeah

Emily: Anyway… Like most working dogs, therapy dogs at airports and other public spaces require special training programs and require dogs and their handlers to go through a variety of training courses, training programs, to make sure that that handler and that dog can safely be in those spaces and also be good at doing what they're there to do. In this case, help people feel better.

Matt: And Kepler is one of 128 animal volunteers at, uh, the Denver International Airport. And each of those animals, by the way, of course, is also escorted by a human volunteer who lives with them and, and brings them to the airport.

Most of these 128 animals are dogs, but there is one cat called Xeli. All of these animals and Kepler in particular, love the work that they do. And that's why they're brought to the airport is because it's a place that they feel happy and they can transfer that happy onto other people.

Pam: He loves meeting people and I, they're both golden retrievers, he is it's like he's in charge and he's the mayor out there. He loves meeting everyone and he's very excited once we get there.

And, and of course, because he is that friendly, he's a very animated personality. He's just magnetic. I mean, I can't go very quickly down a concourse because you get stopped every 20 steps. ‘Can I pet your dog?’ Like, ‘yes! That's why he is here!’

Emily: Matt, the one time, the one time I was traveling and I saw a volunteer with their therapy dog at the airport, I was in the Phoenix airport, and I was so excited because I'd never seen it before, even though I knew it existed. And I had negative 10 minutes to get to my gate on the other side of the airport, and I was crushed as I went careening past this person and their dog because I was so stressed and I couldn't stop and pet the cute dog on their heads.

I was so upset about it, and so I'm really happy to know that there's so many different airports where this is happening. And I didn't know that they were all volunteers. I actually thought that a lot of them were services that were contracted by airports.

Pam: Well, in general, we usually sign up and do one of the concourses, or we can do the baggage area or the check-in area. You can choose wherever you want to to go. We also sometimes have special assignments. But generally, I come in and I, I go into one of the concourses and you just kind of walk through from gate to gate and stop with people and you kind of see people look at you, you get this eye, and you're like, oh, would you like to? And I move towards 'em. 

And you know, there's a lot of people that are confused. Most dogs they see in the airport are a service dog of some sort, or there's someone's personal dog that you're not really gonna interact with. He has a little jacket on it on him that says, ‘Pet Me’ but sometimes people don't catch that either.

And I, I generally just offer it to them. And children are very attracted to him and he's very attracted to them. And it's a very nice experience for them, and we have these, um, business cards, so to speak. They call 'em trading cards. I didn't understand how popular those were, but if you, I can go through a giant stack of them in a few hours

Emily: This is making me feel like that time we talked about trading cards for airplanes, and now I really wish that we could get therapy dog trading cards, honestly, working dog trading cards. I just want the trading cards for all the working dogs.

Matt: I want one too. And I think we're gonna be able to post Kepler's trading card on our social media. So look out for that on the AirSpacePod Instagram account. 

But one thing you know, as a dog owner, a dog dad, whatever you wanna say. One of the things that I really appreciate about dogs is that every dog has its own personality. No two dogs are exactly the same. And you know, you really have to think about the fact that not every dog would be great in an airport, right? In such a chaotic environment. 

I have two dogs right now, Luke and Ella. Ella would be terrible in an airport. She would either be scared of the motorized carts that are, you know, running up and down the hallways, or she would be trying to sniff out some food on the ground the whole time. It'd be one or the other, either terrified or looking for food. And my other dog, Luke, would just be so happy to meet everyone in the airport.

So, you know, the, the dogs that do make their way to the airport and that are out there working as therapy dogs are those ones that are more like Luke. They're the ones that really do have the right kind of disposition and personality to be out there in the crowds, helping people feel relaxed.

Pam: They just have to have good manners and be okay with large spaces obviously, and unusual surroundings.

Both of mine have been very excited by that. I mean, we just take them everywhere as puppies so that they can get used to everything unusual that could be happening. And so it doesn't bother them. And they're just, you know, getting through TSA isn't a big deal, you know, so the first test when you go to the airport is they have you meet you at the other side of TSA that you've come through with your dog and if you've come through, okay then I think that's, I think that's part of their, um, idea. If you made it through that and you're all happy, then you're gonna make it at the airport. 'Cause not all dogs, even though the ones that do therapy work, not all of them want to be really in the thick of things.

You know, there's the golf carts that run up and down the concourses and just a lot of chaos. So, um, you know, and, and as a handler you need to be watching for all that ahead of time. Like I'm always scanning ahead of me what's coming up. Um, is there somebody with their own personal dog who may not be as nice as they could be?

Or is there a toddler that pops out of the gate without their parent because, you know, they do that. So I'm always looking around and making sure that's gonna be okay too.

Matt: Pam's background is as a nurse and she does use Kepler and used to use Tycho as, you know, a therapy dog in hospitals, and was a member of a larger therapy dog program, which is the case for all of the animals in, um, these airport programs, is that they tend to be affiliated with a local therapy animal group, and they're required, of course, to be fully vetted in every sense of the word, healthy and insured. 

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Emily:   So in addition to getting trading cards for the therapy dogs, and I would love to see some trading cards for the TSA security dogs, I've always deeply wanted to see a beagle in the Beagle Brigade. And the Beagle Brigade is a group of beagles who are working dogs, but specifically their job is a little bit less about sort of your physical safety in an airport and more about sort of more generalized safety.

Matt: The Beagle Brigade is actually part of a larger group of Beagles and Labrador retrievers that works with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and also Customs and Border Protection to sniff out prohibited agricultural products like fruits and vegetables and plants, live animals, et cetera that aren’tt allowed in this country. Or sometimes allowed to go across state borders

This is because these things can spread diseases to humans or to plants, we have to protect our agriculture, or they’re invasive species. Or, you know, things like fruits or cheeses or whatever from abroad that are not allowed in because food safety regulations are not the same as in the U.S.

Emily: The beagles work in the airports because according to  Customs and Border Protection they have a “keen sense of smell, non-threatening size, high food drive, and a gentle disposition with the public.” 

The labrador retrievers that do similar work are part of the “Border Brigade” or the “Cargo Brigade” and work all behind the scenes.

The beagles started at LAX in 1984, and the labs joined the team in 2000.

I only knew about the Beagle Brigade and I've always wanted to see one, and one day I will and I will report back to you all. Maybe no pictures though, because I don't know if they do pictures and I feel weird taking pictures of safety things.

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Emily: Matt, the last dog job we're gonna talk about today was one I had no idea about and I had such a good time talking to Chris Keyser at the Charleston Airport in West Virginia about the two Border Collie coworkers he has that are doing a super unique job, wildlife patrol.

Chris: Name is, uh, Chris Keyser. Um, as of my title is, uh, Wildlife Specialist here at the airport. And I work with Hercules and Ned, the dogs and our, our patrol dogs that, uh, work and run the birds off and deers and coyotes and things like that. And they do a fantastic job. You couldn't ask for a better team than those two dogs.

Matt: Yeah, this is interesting to me because as you said, we only know of like these two dogs who are doing this job in Charleston, but I have seen hawks being used for this job in various different places and different contexts where you want to scare away birds that might be trying to roost in places that you don't want them.

And the idea of using dogs of course makes perfect sense because dogs are also recognized by birds as predators. And of course birds run away from dogs too.

Emily: Yeah, and so I never even thought about this kind of danger. Certainly bird strikes are a dangerous thing for airplanes, but it hadn't occurred to me how you mitigate that danger. And while Charleston Airport is a pretty small airport, we're talking about less than a hundred flights a day.

Chris goes out with the dogs um, he initially had one dog. He now has a new rookie on the roster that is working with his, his more senior, more experienced dog, and they go out into the fields by the runways before the planes are even scheduled to take off or land, and they sort of patrol that runway for birds and other wildlife to really flush them out and kind of get them out of the way.

Their job isn't to hunt these things, right? Their job is to just get them off the runway, get them out of the fields, and really kind of move along today we’re done.

Chris: So we take the dogs out and they act as a predator, and the birds see 'em as predators and they, they just fly away and they, they're scared of 'em. And then they, uh, they're very effective tool to use on the airfield. 

And we do about five to six miles a day with them, uh, about every day and running birds. And, uh, they made about 70% difference in our bird strikes. Which is, uh, pretty big deal. We have very low bird strikes here at the airport.

And, uh, a lot of other airports now are looking at what we're doing, uh, here in West Virginia. They're thinking about getting their own dogs now, so it's gonna create some jobs for the future, for the other airports. And also it's, it's fun. And to get to see a team of dogs work and they have fun. They bark at the birds and, and, and they just give you loves and hugs and kisses. They're excited about doing their job and they love it. All we do is give 'em a pat on the head and they just keep on doing it.

Matt: Charleston started this program back in 2018 when Hercules was only two years old and uh, obviously now seven years later, he's nine years old and he is still going strong.

Emily: And Chris was working at the airport long before he started working with Hercules and Ned and because of his other skills that he had, he was a natural fit to be Hercules’ handler.

Chris: Our director realized that, uh, we need to do something about bird strikes, and especially since the plane was on the Hudson, you know, it went down and then it. It kind of changed the future, you know, what can we do differently? And so she got to thinking, and everybody got thinking, different directors and everybody got their heads together, why not get dogs?

And uh, so that's kind of how I fell in the position because I've worked with dogs all my life. I've hunt with dogs. I got beagles and, and, uh, so I'm a, you know, rabid hunter and that's what I like to do. I like to hunt a lot. And so I know a lot about nature and, uh, and how animals, you know, I can track animals, whatever.

And tell by the footprints what type of animal it is. So that stuff come natural for me. And they knew I was the best for the job. But I've been there almost 30 years at this airport. And, uh, I started working here at this airport I was just a, uh, in housekeeping, then I was maintenance, and then I was a supervisor, then I was a manager.

And, uh, our director approached me. He said, ‘would you like to be the, the guy that works with Hercules and uh, running birds to keep people safe?’ I said, ‘absolutely! Sign me up.’

Emily: This program is really designed to help prevent bird strikes, but we're not just talking about the bird strikes that are gonna take down an airplane. We're also talking about bird strikes and encounters with other wildlife that would cause damage to the airplane that would cause a delay. It is about the catastrophic challenges, but it's also about the dings and dents that might happen that have to then get the plane to return back to the gate, have the mechanics come out, make sure the plane is safe and ready to use, and then send that plane on its way. 

So it's a full spectrum of safety for the pilots, for the crew, for the passengers, and for the airplane. You know what I mean though? Right. 

Matt: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

Emily: It's just I hadn't thought about it. Right. I was thinking like exclusively about bird strikes like the Hudson. Right. And while that's yes, but it's a ‘yes, and right,’ it's also the like, ‘oh, we like clipped a bird, we've gotta land, we've gotta go back. We've gotta make sure that this is safe.’ And that causes huge delays. And I hadn't thought about that full spectrum. 

Matt: Yeah…So Chris got both Hercules and Ned from trainers in North Carolina where they were trained in what border collies are traditionally bred for, which is herding. And once Chris got the dogs, he worked with them on airport specific command and safety before they were put to work in the airfield. And we could point out that these are the only two dogs we know of who are doing this job right now.

But there are other airports who are looking into using dogs and may start using them soon. And they also were not the first dogs to be used in this way, but right now, the two of them are performing a unique task.

Chris: Well, the training like for this dog, uh, Ned and Herc was both North Carolina dogs. Uh, one was trained by Flyaway Geese, and the other one's trained by Kuykendall Border Collies in North Carolina as well. And they both use the same commands. They learn their commands and like to lie down. Or if I say away or come by, it makes turn right or left, that’re do, load up, or cage or something.

They all, all this stuff's been talked to 'em to go into water even after geese and uh, and uh, to run everything out and or, and also when we got him here at the airport, I had to retrain him for the safety part of not going on the runway. So you gotta drill that into 'em. So you use those same commands to pull 'em away from the edge so they get the gist of it.

And that way I can trust them and I don't have to worry about going on the runway. And anytime a plane lands, so I pull 'em off the edge of the runway and I have 'em lie down till the plane lands 'cause I don't want 'em to go on a runway. Also, I don't wanna flush birds out in front of an aircraft, so you gotta be paying attention.

Emily: Chris started working with Hercules, but a couple of years ago, the airport decided that they needed to start to fill out their roster a little bit more because at some point Hercules was gonna retire. He's now about eight or nine, and that's when they added Ned to their team. And this is a really cool dynamic because it means that Hercules is kind of this veteran who's really helping in the training process of Ned, so that eventually Ned can take over that job.

Matt: That's the fun thing about Border Collies is if you've ever watched them work with sheep, the younger dogs really do follow the lead of the older dogs and get a lot of their training, you know, peer to peer instead of, you know, from the, the trainer or the handler, which is I think, kind of fascinating to watch.

Chris: Actually, when I went to North Carolina, I took Hercules with me on the trip. And, uh, first and most of all, uh, I wanna make sure Herc would get along with Ned and I, I had to see Ned work in the field. He was trained to run goats. And, uh, to herd goats up and, and geese. So I took Hercules along with me to make sure they weren't going to fight or growl at each other or whatever, but Herc and Ned hit it right off the bat and they was working together in the field and they was having a good time.

I said, yep, I'll take him. That's the dog for me. For this airport.

Emily: And I had to ask this question of Chris because I couldn't imagine whether or not the dogs lived with Chris or if the dogs lived at the airport. And it turns out that Hercules and Ned have their very own office at the airport where they stay and they live and they work every day out on the airfield. 

But they have their own suite of safety equipment. So they have their own adorable coats and booties and goggles depending on the season and depending on the weather, to keep their little tootsies safe. And they also work as therapy dogs in the terminal. So when they have a little bit of time off and they need a little bit of a rest, they go into the terminal and they get to go see the passengers and really are kind of these goodwill ambassadors and really help everybody feel even better on a travel day.

Chris: A lot of times we're, for a fun time, we got a ball. So Ned likes to play ball. We'll go through, uh, and visit the people in the office. We'll go up and visit the people in the tower, kind of make their day, you know, not being so stressful and, and makes them, you know, have a better day.

So I just take the ball and they start throwing the ball through the hallways, and then I go out through the passenger, I'll take the ball with me and I'll have the passengers throw the ball and toss it to 'em, and he brings it back, lays at their feet. And it just, it just makes everybody happy and, and, uh, wanna create that memorable, uh, experience, uh, for our passengers.

Emily: And like any good celebrity, Hercules and Ned have merch, 

Matt: Mmmhmm

Emily: and that includes a children's book that they definitely wrote themselves.

Matt: Of course. 

This is all really, you know, another side of dogs that I don't really get to experience since my dogs are just house pets. And for the most part, you know, when they're not interacting with me, they're napping or eating a treat or, you know, doing whatever it is that they do in their downtime.

The life of a working dog obviously is much busier than the lives that they lead, which to me seem, you know, if I were to be reincarnated being a dog in a, you know, a well kept house would be great. But, um, you know, I don't know, if I were to be a working dog, I think working at the airport would be a fun way to spend my time. I don't know. What about you, Emily? If you were a dog, what kind of job would you want to have?

Emily: Mm. It's such a hard, it's, it's hard. I feel like I would want something that's like really important work, but like, not dangerous. So, you know, like, my job, important work, not dangerous. So I'm thinking like, I'm thinking like Beagle Brigade, you know. something like really important work to help keep everybody safe and healthy, but like, not like cruising security lines. Does that make me sound weak? Does that make me sound cowardly?

Matt: No, I think, you know, 

Emily: I, don't care. I think I, wanna do important work, but that's not public facing, which I know is hilarious. Given what we do now

Matt: I, I like it. I like that, 

Emily: I just like a little quieter existence in my next life

Matt: yeah, you want something important,  Right. Low pressure. 

Emily: Low pressure. I mean high pressure, but low pressure, right? 

With like intermittent playtime, breaks, you gotta love the life of a working dog. Work and play makes a happy and healthy pup. 

Matt: That’s right

​AirSpace theme up then under

Matt: Airspace is from the National Air and Space Museum. It's produced by Jennifer Weingart and mixed by Tarek Fouda. Airspace is hosted by Dr. Emily Martin and me, Dr. Matt Shindell. 

Our managing producer is Erika Novak. Our production coordinator is Joe Gurr, and our social media manager is Amy Stamm. 

A big thank you to our guests in this episode, Pam Baird with the Denver International Airport's CATS Program and Chris Keyser from the Charleston Airport.

Additional thanks to the communications team at Charleston and Denver for their help with interviews and the pictures we'll be posting of cute dogs on our social media. 

Did you know the transcripts of our episodes include citations and extra fun facts? You can find them linked in the show notes along with the signup for our totally hilarious monthly newsletter.

For additional content photos and more follow AirSpacePod on Instagram and X, we're also on YouTube shorts! Check us out on the museum's page. 

Airspace is sponsored by Lockheed Martin and distributed by PRX. 

AirSpace theme up and out

Matt:  I'll tell you one thing that's kind of miraculous, considering that this was our dog episode. My dogs didn't bark once while we were recording, which usually I have to pause at least once during a recording because they're barking at like the UPS guy or something like that.