Retiring Milwaukee Airport Bomb-Sniffing Dog Showered With Toys

A six-year-old Transportation Security Administration (TSA) passenger-screening dog at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport was showered with toys after his last shift on the job on Thursday, May 2.

Rex, a German shorthaired pointer with five years’ work experience, is “ready to trade in his working vest for afternoons lounging on the sofa,” the TSA said.

On his last morning at work at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE), Rex alerted his canine handler to a scent on a decoy passenger, which led to a shower of tennis balls “tossed his way by his friends and party guests.”

The canine’s ‘Do Not Pet’ patch was removed from his vest by his handler, Regina Eisenberg, “thus officially signaling that the dog was no longer a working canine and could be petted. There was no shortage of guests who were eager to pet the newly retired dog,” the TSA said in a press release.

Rex and Eisenberg were the first canine/handler team brought in to start Wisconsin’s TSA passenger-screening canine program in 2023, and Rex would continue to live with Eisenberg “for the rest of his life,” according to the TSA.

Rex is “looking forward to snoozing on the couch, visiting the beach for the first time, and enjoying his favorite squeaky toys,” the TSA said. Credit: TSA Great Lakes via Storyful

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