TSA explosives detection canine Djole works at LaGuardia Airport. (TSA photo)
NEW YORK – A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) explosives detection canine from LaGuardia Airport and one from John F. Kennedy International Airport are two of 13 dogs featured in the free downloadable TSA 2023 monthly calendar that honors its explosives detection canines from across the country.
TSA trains each of its explosives detection canines at the TSA Canine Training Center, located at Joint Base San Antonio - Lockland in San Antonio, Texas. 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.
Djole, a 3-year-old Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, works at LaGuardia Airport with his TSA Canine Handler, James. Djole is featured in the month of April. He is a spunky dog who loves to run outdoors on sunny days and then afterward takes a long relaxing nap. His favorite treat is a peanut butter snack and Milk-Bones®. James says if you give Djole a Milk-Bone baked with peanut butter that he’s in absolute heaven.
Also featured in the calendar for October is Tom-Magnum, a German Shorthaired Pointer. Unfortunately, Tom-Magnum crossed the Rainbow Bridge in late October. His handler, Alyssa, said that Tom-Magnum enjoyed going for walks in his neighborhood, looking for birds, squirrels and statues and he loved to play with his pink KONG WBAB and play with a red KONG on a rope to for a little tug-of-war.
Each canine and their handler serves as a reliable resource for detecting explosives as well as providing a visible deterrent to terrorism directed towards various types of transportation nodes. Once on duty, these canines work to safeguard passengers and cargo across the nation’s transportation systems.
This year’s 2023 TSA Canine Calendar features fun facts and great photos of about a few of TSA’s dedicated canines selected from dozens of entries submitted by canine teams from across the agency to help TSA celebrate National Dog Day in August.
TSA has more than 1,000 canine handler teams deployed in support of security and screening operations nationwide. The explosives detection canine teams inspect passengers and all areas in and around terminals. They are so effective at their jobs that other public and private sector law enforcement agencies often request their support for similar security missions.
Aside from making this year’s calendar available for free download to the public as a PDF file, TSA will celebrate those selected for this year’s canine calendar across its social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.