TSA canines to train on discarded NYC subway cars

You lucky dog! Canines enrolled at the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) National Explosive Detection Canine Team Program in San Antonio, Texas are experiencing a change of pace these days. As part of an effort to acquaint the dogs with the special challenges associated with public transportation, TSA has brought in two New York City subway cars. No doubt the trainers want to challenge the dog’s ability to locate explosives in the stinkiest of situations, but more to the point is the need to train them in environments with multiple entry and exit points. Other mock venues include an airport terminal, a cargo facility, multiple aircraft fuselages and a parking lot.

Explosives detection canines are among the most well trained and pampered in the business. Bred from puppies at the Lackland Air Force Base, the dogs —mainly German shepherds, Belgian malanoises, and Vizslas — are teamed up with law enforcement officers from around the country for vigorous training in search techniques for aircraft, baggage, vehicles and transportation structures, as well as procedures for identifying dangerous materials and “alerting” or letting the handler know when these materials are present by laying down or pointing. According to TSA, there are currently thirty-five such canine teams working in eleven mass transit systems.

-read more in this news release