MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – The airport TSA has a really necessary job to maintain all of us protected, and one among Milwaukee’s friendliest and furriest brokers was rewarded for his onerous work Thursday.
Rex, a 6.5-year-old explosive detection Okay-9, is hanging up his vest.
“These dogs are so good at their jobs. Really, the handler is the one holding the leash. The canine does all the work,” mentioned TSA Okay-9 handler Regina Eisenberg.
Rex has been working and residing with Eisenberg for 5 years.
“We have a fairly particular bond. He’s a nice canine,” she mentioned. “We do not deal with them as pets at home as a result of they’re working dogs, and so they have to know that you just come to work, you work. You come home, you relaxation.”
Now, Eisenberg is taking a brand new position as a Okay-9 supervisor at O’Hare Airport. That means Rex will get to retire and go home with her as a “common” canine.
TSA brokers at Mitchell International Airport held a particular ceremony for his retirement.
“Normally when the canine alerts from a decoy, we give the canine his toy to play, that is how he will get paid,” defined Tim Goodman, assistant federal safety director at TSA Wisconsin. “In this case, all of us gathered round and all gave him a toy to play, so he had a couple of hundred toys to play with.”
It’s a convention for the company to honor every pup’s onerous work.
“The dogs are our greatest layer of safety. They can detect explosives higher than any of our gear can,” Goodman mentioned.
Rex is the primary explosive detection Okay-9 to retire from Mitchell International Airport, the place he and Eisenberg labored for two years.
They have been the primary staff in Milwaukee. Now, the airport has three different explosive detection dogs and handlers.
“Hopefully I form of put my stamp on it a little bit, and helped out a variety of the opposite handlers that got here after me,” Eisenberg mentioned.
Because Rex is formally no longer a working canine, he can get pets from everybody.
“Our plan is to go all through the day and go see some individuals, and to allow them to give him pets all day,” Eisenberg mentioned.
