It’s almost December, which means a new year is just around the corner. If you’re looking for a 2024 calendar, here’s one that might be paws-itively perfect: The 2024 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Canine Calendar is now available for download. The TSA Canine Calendar is an annual tradition that honors the agency’s more than 1,000 explosives detection canines working in airports across the United States.
TSA uses canines as part of its multilayered security operations nationwide and also trains about 300 canines each year. These highly skilled dogs are trained to detect the scent of explosives or explosive materials. TSA canines are paired with handlers who use the working canine’s keen sense of smell to help ensure security throughout the nation’s transportation system. Each canine recruit spends 16 weeks in training at the TSA Canine Training Center, located at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio. There, the canines meet their handlers, socialize to adapt to busy transportation environments, and learn their craft of detecting a variety of explosive odors before reporting to their duty stations.
The 2024 TSA Canine Calendar features photos and fun facts about each of this year’s 15 canine winners who were selected from dozens of entries submitted by TSA canine teams from across the country. The calendar also features TSA-trained canines from the Bangor Police Department and the San Antonio International Airport Police Department.
This year’s featured canines and airports include:
- Dina: Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
A rare all-black German Shorthaired Pointer, Harry Reid International Airport’s Dina was crowned TSA’s Cutest Canine for 2023. (Source: TSA) - Archy-Arce: San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Ben: Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (SJU)
- Csimbok: Jacksonville International Airport (JAX)
- Eci: Buffalo Niagara International Airport/Niagara Falls International Airport (BUF/IAG)
- Duke-LeDuc: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Erika: George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
- Gina: LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
- Joker-Jordan: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
- Kari: Bangor International Airport (BGR); Bangor Police Department
- Lubo-Lugo: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Puk: Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
- Rocky: San Antonio International Airport (SAT); SAT Police Department
- Zeta: Tampa International Airport (TPA)
- Zita: Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP)
The 2024 calendar also features the 2023 Cutest Canine Contest winner, Dina, a 3-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer explosives detection canine at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. Dina is a passenger screening canine who serves alongside her handler, Nick Goyak. Dina was one of several TSA canines who worked at Super Bowl LVII in Phoenix earlier this year, keeping the venues and surrounding areas safe and secure for football fans and the community.
Each canine and their handler serve as a reliable resource for detecting explosives as well as providing a visible deterrent to terrorism across all transportation modes.
Want to learn what it’s like to be an explosives detection canine handler? Watch the TSA’s Explosives Detection Canine Handler video below.
