Meet the Beagles who search for smuggled goods at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport.

Customs and Border Protection uses Beagles for a couple of reasons: they are not as intimidating as other K-9s like German Shepherds, and they eat less than the larger dogs. Each Beagle goes through a training period of 10-weeks with the paired handler. During the training, handlers become familiar with the dog before they are put to work at their respective port of entry. Each pup can find various plants, meats, fruits and vegetables, and the training doesn’t stop once they are certified. These canines and their handlers have to recertify every year.

Retirement age is about 9 years old, although because they use exclusively rescues, they really don’t know how old the dogs are. The biggest criterion is whether or not they retain their motivation to work for food rewards. (I could still be working at age 58!)

Gotta love those little noses on four legs.

Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!