Honolulu TSA dog selected for calendar
This year the Transportation Security Administration’s annual calendar honoring its explosives detection canines from across the country features Kajla, who works at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
Kajla, a Vizsla who screens travelers, was also named TSA’s cutest canine in August. She graces the August 2021 page.
Kajla’s favorite thing is being on the job, whether it’s in terminals, parking structures, vehicles or airplanes, TSA said in a news release. After a long day at work, she loves to play with her toys, which include tennis balls, a Kong squeaker and Kong tug toy. One of her specialties is giving her handler, Penny, a hug.
Among the TSA dogs featured are German short-haired pointers, Labrador retrievers and a German shepherd that work at airports from San Francisco to Chicago.
TSA trains each of its explosives detection canines at the TSA Canine Training Center, located at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio, considered the “Center for Excellence” for explosives detection canine training. The TSA National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program is the Department of Homeland Security’s largest explosives detection canine program.
About 300 canines complete the training annually. Each canine recruit spends 16 weeks in training where they meet their handlers, socialize to adapt to busy airport environments and learn their craft of detecting a variety of explosive odors before reporting to their duty stations.
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Each canine and its handler serves as a reliable resource for detecting explosives as well as providing a visible deterrent to terrorism directed toward various types of transportation nodes.
Once on duty, TSA canines work to safeguard passengers and cargo across the nation’s transportation systems. TSA has more than 1,000 canine handler teams deployed across the U.S., where they inspect passengers and terminals.
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The 2021 TSA Canine Calendar is available at tsa.gov.