Meet Flash, a rookie Homeland Security dog who sniffs luggage at ATL

Dogs perform many duties in the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to keep America's airports safe, including detecting explosives, drugs, food and products that are harmful to people and agriculture.

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Flash is dressed and ready for work at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in June 2024.

Credit: CBP Southeast / X

This spring, a beagle name Flash started his first week of work at the world's busiest airport: Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International.

The beagle breed's "ability to discriminate and target a specific odor, such as that of an orange or even a live snail," makes the dogs "invaluable ... in detecting prohibited agricultural items hidden from view," the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency states on its website.

Because beagles are great at sniffing out prohibited items, CBP has created a Beagle Brigade with highly trained canine handlers to be a front-line defense against potential agricultural threats.

"We are thrilled to welcome Flash to our Atlanta team," Clay Thomas Atlanta Area Port Director for CBP said in a release of the beagle. "His successful detection on his first day underscores the critical role our canine units play in protecting American agriculture.”

Thomas further shared, “Flash’s keen sense of smell and dedicated training are invaluable assets in our ongoing efforts to safeguard our country.” 

Flash, a rescue beagle from the Humane Society in Blue Ridge, Ga., trained at the USDA National Detector Dog Training Center in Newnan, Ga. All its detector dogs are adopted from rescue shelters in the U.S. or come to the program from private donations. 

Flash's job is to detect food and products that pose potential threats to U.S. agriculture. 

On May 10, Flash alerted a CBP Agriculture Specialist to a passenger’s luggage from Nigeria. CBP performed an inspection and discovered prohibited items including infested beans, cow skin, herbs, soup mix, seeds, wood and yams. These items, which could carry pests or diseases, were seized and destroyed.

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GBP beagle Flash poses with the items he detected in a passenger's luggage at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on May 10, 2024.

Credit: CBP Southeast / X

"The vigilant rookie canine," as CBP described the young beagle, also uncovered fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat products.

During a typical day, CBP agriculture specialists across the nation seized 2,677 prohibited plant, meat, animal byproducts, and soil, and intercepted 240 insect pests at U.S. ports of entry.