If we had our way, every subway token booth in NYC would be transitioned into permanent puppy homes. Unfortunately, society hasn't quite caught up with us yet—so we'll have to be satisfied with the knowledge that at least 19 dogs have new jobs with the MTA. You can see some candid photos from their K9 graduation above.
All 19 pups went through 12 weeks of intense anti-terrorism and bomb-detection training at an upstate farm. When they first arrived, most of them couldn't tell their tail from their snout: "We call them green dogs because they don’t know anything," officer Allen Kirsch, whose new partner Sentry graduated at the ceremony, told the Post. "They come full of energy and no obedience." Though this is an ideal state of doggyinnocenceness, we must drag them into the cynical arms of Maturity so they can do their jobs like the rest of us.
Twelves of the pups will join their human partners in active duty inspecting unattended or suspicious packages and patrolling the trains, stations, tracks and facilities of the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and Staten Island Railway. Another seven pups will join the NYPD, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, and the police departments of Brewster and Warwick, NY.
The dogs joining the MTA Police are Augie, Chief, Daehan, Foxy, Geo, Holland, Joey, Mac, Patriot, Sentry, T.J. and Vinny. The seven joining the MTA’s sister agencies are Blue, Boomer, Dante, Falco, Nox, Sentinel and Tank.
These 19 follow in the footsteps of pioneering police dogs, including Taz (the last 9/11 search-and-rescue dog), Blaze (a gun-sniffing legend), Scooby (a bloodhound with a nose for Justice), and Bear (who was injured in the line of duty last year).
