Give a big round of a-paws for Barni, an explosives detection canine at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO)! He has been named the winner of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) 2024 Cutest Canine Contest. The agency uses the annual contest to highlight the important role of security canines.
Last week, the TSA held its nationwide social media contest during which the public voted for the agency’s “cutest canine” from among four agency finalists. TSA canine handlers from airports and enforcement handlers across the country initially nominated the canine candidates. TSA employees then voted and narrowed the original field of 87 cute contenders to the final four.
Barni is a five-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer. As the winner, he’ll now be featured on the front cover of the TSA’s 2025 Canine Calendar in December. (Make sure to download the 2024 TSA Canine Calendar, featuring last year’s top dog, Dina, and other cuties, here!)
“Our explosives detection canines and their handlers are an essential component of TSA’s multi-layered approach to security,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “I look forward to this contest every year.”
Barni is a passenger screening canine who works alongside his handler, Michelle Cogel, at SFO. Cogel has worked at the TSA for six years, the last three years serving as a canine handler.
Barni is a very special canine with a strong work ethic. He bursts with energy when working to detect any trace of explosives. He loves to be with his canine co-workers at the SFO, where he is all business. When he’s at home with Cogel, he’s free to be a goofball. He loves to play fetch but mainly is obsessed with keeping fit by chasing squirrels.
The Role of Security Canines
The TSA employs canines like Barni in its security operations nationwide. These teams nimbly work through large groups of people to detect the source of an explosive’s odor, even if the source is mobile. The canines and their handlers train regularly, and the handlers learn to read subtle changes in their canines’ behavior when the scent of an explosive has been detected.
If a canine alerts its handler, the TSA follows an established procedure to resolve the alarm. These highly trained canines provide an effective tool for deterring and detecting the introduction of explosive devices into the nation’s transportation systems.
The TSA has more than 1,000 canine teams that are trained at its national Canine Training Center in San Antonio, Texas. The National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program began in 1972 under the Federal Aviation Administration as a partnership with state and local law enforcement. The program was transferred to the TSA after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The first use of TSA explosives detection canines was in March 2008 to screen air cargo, and in 2011, the TSA expanded the program to screen passengers.
As a reminder to travelers, TSA canines are on duty while with their handlers at the airport and must not be petted.
Congratulations to the TSA’s other three finalists:
- Carlo, a 3-year-old male Vizsla from Kansas City International Airport (MCI);
- Badger, a 5-year-old male Belgian Malinois from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD); and
- Birdie, a 3-year-old Yellow Lab/Vizsla from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE).