TSA K-9 Eebbers showered with toys, pets, and cake on his final day of service at MSP
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The TSA's oldest active serving K-9 is calling it quits following a decade of service for the agency, much of which happened at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Eebbers, a Visla/Lab mix has worked as an explosive's detection canine at MSP since 2015. During that time, he's worked with handler Jean Carney to sniff nearly every passenger coming through the airport's gates.
"He was about 14 months old when I got him, so he was a high-spirited puppy when we got him," Carney said. "He brings me to work every day. He's the one that gets up every morning, when I put that TSA shirt on, he knows it's time to go to work… He was born to do this."
K-9's in Eebbers role typically work until the age of seven or eight.
"He's the oldest working K-9 still in the TSA workforce, 11 1/2 years old," said TSA Federal Security Director Marty Robinson. "It's very unusual that a team would be working in the TSA that long and still be as effective as he is."
During his career, Eebbers has worked two Super Bowl events, a Special Olympics World Games, and a National College Football Championship. In August, he was named 'TSA's Cutest K-9' after winning a fan vote.
Eebbers and Carney celebrated their final day of service Wednesday with one final exercise – the dog tracked the scent of an explosive on Carney's husband. When he was successful, he was showered with hundreds of toys from the concourse above.
"For him to see that everybody appreciates this, and for him to get all that attention is wonderful, it's a great feeling," Carney said. "He's worked so hard all of these years. He's been so dedicated, and such a hard worker, and the only thing he asked is that toy."
Carney and her dog were then honored with commemorative plaques from the TSA, along with bomb shaped cakes.
"I was just ready for him to be a dog," Carney said. "I just wanted him to enjoy the last few years just being a dog. It's inevitable he was going to come to a point where he was going to start slowing down, and maybe start not being as proficient as he was when he was younger. I didn't want him to go out on a low note."