High security hide-and-seek, K9 training at Sea-Tac airport
By Lindsay Peyton
The dogs had a field day at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Tuesday, May 9.
“It’s just like hide-and-seek, what we do all day long with the dogs,” Port of Seattle K9 officer David Irons said.
While the day’s training session may have seemed like a game for the bomb-sniffing canines, the important work they were doing could save lives one day.
There were multiple drills planned at the airport, all as a way for the dogs to practice finding explosives in a crowded space.
Officers from various units around the state were invited to attend, with their canine companions, to train alongside travelers at the airport, finding real explosives in a real-world environment.
The airport was just one of a handful of sites, where more than 120 K9 teams trained during the day.
In the baggage area, dogs searched until they found bags, which officers had planted on-site.
In the ticketing area, the four-legged security guards practiced identifying a moving target, using a technique that Port of Seattle officer Hannah Minnehan said is also used in the Pentagon.
