Handlers, not dogs failed tests

If the three bomb-sniffing pooches who failed an annual recertification test last year at the airport could talk, they would probably say, "Don't blame me."

It was not the dogs who fumbled their assignment, it was their handlers, said U.S. Rep. Bob Brady yesterday.

The handlers were not properly trained, said Brady, who faulted the Transportation Security Administration for the personnel issue and for the agency's lack of communication with officials of Philadelphia International Airport.

"They blamed the dogs but it was the handlers that needed to be recertified," he said.

"TSA has got to get their act together . . . They were not talking with the airport," Brady said, referring to when media outlets initially broke the news that dogs had failed TSA tests.

TSA stays mum about its dog agents.

"We don't provide the status of our dogs or our training initiatives - ever," said Ann Davis, a TSA spokeswoman.

Regarding Brady's comments, Davis said the "TSA would welcome the opportunity to meet with Brady to discuss his concerns."

The teams - made up of a dog and handler each - received more training and were re-tested but failed twice. One team has passed and is back on the job and another is expected to return soon, but the third team has been split up, apparently because of human error, Brady said.

"The dog is fine, but not the handler. They will train another handler," he said. "They will replace him."

The unidentified TSA employee "didn't know what to look for or where to take the dog to sniff [in cargo]," Brady said.

A source close to the issue said the handler "treated the dog as a pet, which is inappropriate." Affection is to be avoided when it concerns service dogs on duty, he said.