If you’ve ever been waiting for your luggage at a US airport and seen a TSA or airport security dog go by, you’ve probably wondered exactly what their jobs are. But you may be surprised to learn just how many different detection, security, and sniffing roles are available to different dogs. For example, Dodo in Portland, OR, sniffs out suspicious materials, while Kipper puts her luscious locks to work in sunny San Diego, CA.
Photo: Svitlana Hulko/Shutterstock
Meet the 13 Best Boys and Girls of US Airport Security
Who are Dodo and Kipper, you ask? They’re two of thirteen of the goodest boys and girls working for the US Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) selected for the 2025 TSA Canine Calendar. And that means these smart pups may have to learn to start signing autographs (paw-tographs?), because each dog has a full-color spread in the calendar. Every month includes not just a glamor shot of each dog, but also additional “photos and fun facts about these canine heroes.” The calendar is available online and is completely free to download. While that’s not as good as getting to pet the dogs in real life, it’s a close second.
Dodo is both a champion sniffer, and champion napper. Photo: TSA Canine Calendar
The TSA employees more than 1,000 working dogs across the country, trained in four different roles: passenger screening canines, explosive detection canines, vapor wake canines, and specialized screening canines, though there are multiple roles within each of those distinctions. Dogs can use their excellent senses of smell to sniff out substances like illegal drugs, explosive materials, or certain remnant gases. Dogs may walk with their handlers around check-in areas at airports, or scan luggage as it comes off conveyer belts in the arrival section. Dogs can also be used behind the scenes to detect suspicious luggage and cargo, or may even be used to check individuals as they enter the country or move through security checks.
If you don’t use the calendar for date keeping, you can use it for hair inspiration. Photo: TSA Canine Calendar
The majority of TSA’s dogs (and all the dogs in the TSA canine calendar) are large breeds like German shepherds, labradors, and pointers, many of whom can be adopted by the public after they retire. Other agencies tend to use smaller dogs known for their excellent noses, including the US Department of Agriculture, which uses primarily beagles and beagle mixes to detect contraband agricultural items. But regardless of what agency the dogs are working for, the most successful four-legged officers are those with a high combination of intelligence, temperament, and ease of training (and a strong sense of smell, of course). Most dogs are there to keep airports safe from explosives and other security threats, not to bust travelers who may have had a little marijuana in their bag at some point.
Bruno loves both sniffing out danger, and playing with his squeaky Kong Wubba toy. Photo: TSA Canine Calendar
The 2025 TSA canine calendar is full of fun facts like these, as well as information about the history of the canine program and some useful packing and traveling tips. But the best facts are those about the dogs themselves — did you know Barni of California’s San Francisco International Airport also won 2024’s TSA “Cutest Canine” contest? If you’re wondering how they decide which dogs made the cut, you may be happy to know nearly all the nominees are included toward the end in a round-up of TSA’s fluffiest officers. 