Two dozen service dogs got some practice going through a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on March 23, to ensure they would be familiar with the experience of traversing through an airport when they need to catch a flight.
TSA officials screened 24 puppies and their trainers from the Guide Dogs for the Blind Foundation to assist individuals with visual impairments and America’s VetDogs who are trained for those with physical disabilities; individuals who are blind or have low vision; and to help veterans mitigate the effects of PTSD.
TSA officers worked with the pups as they came through the checkpoint to acclimate the future guide dogs to the security checkpoint. The familiarization opportunity will result in a smoother experience when the puppies graduate into certified guide dogs and return to take a flight, according to officials from the Guide Dogs for the Blind Foundation. The familiarization exercise enables the canines and their trainers to know what to expect when the dogs and the people they are trained to guide return to take a flight.
The orientation session also served as a good review and reinforcement of TSA procedures for screening service animals for the TSA officers who were working at the checkpoint during the familiarization exercise.
“The orientation session was a hit with the dog trainers, the TSA officers and of course with the dogs. There was plenty of tail wagging,” said John Busch, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “The collaborative effort benefitted the guide dogs, the airport and TSA and will go a long way to ensuring that the dogs and their eventual owners will have a smooth checkpoint experience in the future.”
The dogs also had the opportunity to sniff around the airline check-in counters and baggage carousels and the TSA arranged for the puppies and their trainers to board an aircraft.
Similar TSA checkpoint orientations have taken place for service dogs at other airports including Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Greater Binghamton Airport, Elmira Corning Regional Airport, Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Westchester County Airport, Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport and Long Island MacArthur Airport, among others.
In related news, samsonite recently donated luggage to help US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) train detection dogs. Click here to read the full story.