TSA's Cutest Canine Contest Announces Winner

Image: PHOTO: Kajla, winner of TSA's 2020 Cutest Canine Contest. (photo via TSA)
Image: PHOTO: Kajla, winner of TSA's 2020 Cutest Canine Contest. (photo via TSA)
Lacey Pfalz
by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 12:20 AM ET, Thu August 27, 2020

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced August 26 that Kajla, a five-year-old Vizsla and explosive detection canine at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu, HI, won the TSA's 2020 Cutest Canine Contest.

Members of the public on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook voted for three days last week to determine the agency's cutest canine. The dogs were initially nominated by their handlers across the country.

Kajla is a passenger screening canine (PSC) at HNL, and she works with her handler, Penny. They screen passengers and their belongings for explosives. Kajla is a social and friendly dog. Besides being chosen as the year's cutest canine, she's also been recognized as the first in the nation among TSA PSCs for daily average time worked and time spent training and screening.

Runners up include Djanni from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Ron from Oakland International Airport and Lexa-Alexey from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The contest winner was announced today on National Dog Day to recognize the important work that these highly trained dogs do.

There are currently more than 1,000 PSCs at airports across the country. While PSCs are social, they should not be petted or fed by anyone except their handlers.


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Lacey Pfalz

Lacey Pfalz

Associate Editor

Lacey Pfalz is Associate Editor at TravelPulse. She's a passionate advocate of responsible travel and believes the best travel experiences happen outside of a planned itinerary. Lacey currently lives in rural Wisconsin. She can be reached at [email protected].

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