Messi, an 8-year-old Yellow Labrador Retriever, has had his last run as a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) passenger screening canine at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The dog is ready to trade in his working vest for afternoons lounging on the sofa.
Messi’s claim to fame is that last year he was featured in the free annual downloadable annual TSA canine calendar. He was featured as the dog of the month for February.
He was clearly born to work for TSA because he enjoys watching airplanes and playing in the grass at nearby Gravelly Point. Messi is a lovable and hard-working dog who has enjoyed playing with a tennis ball after a busy day sniffing for any traces of explosives at the airport. Now he doesn’t have to wait to play with his favorite toy.
After his last morning of sniffing for any traces of explosives at Reagan National Airport this morning, Messi was joined by several of the canine handlers and invited guests to celebrate his retirement at a surprise party. A training aid was concealed in a large room and Messi, along with his handler, Peter, searched the room. When Messi “hit” on the device, he was showered with tennis balls tossed his way by the other canine handlers. Messi was thrilled!
Peter then removed Messi’s “Do Not Pet” patch from his harness, 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.
Peter is adopting Messi in his retirement so the two will continue to stay together. As for Peter, he is shifting gears from being a canine handler to a canine trainer.
Photo: Farbstein, Lisa (TSA)