Over the last few years, a growing number of airports have bolstered the ranks of their non-human employees, largely through the addition of therapy dogs and other animals designed to ease the minds of weary travelers. But that isn’t the only way that airports are making use of canines to make the experience on the ground better for all involved. At Charleston, West Virginia’s West Virginia International Yeager Airport, a pair of border collies — Hercules and Ned — are at work keeping the facilities safe.
As John Raby reports for the Associated Press, the collies have an important task: keeping animals — especially birds — away from the runways and anywhere else where they could interfere with the smooth operation of getting passengers in and out of the airport. As someone who watched US Airways Flight 1549 land in the Hudson after colliding with a flock of birds in 2009, I’m of the opinion that keeping birds as far from plane engines as possible is a good thing. And if a pair of very good dogs can help with this, it’s that much better.
Hercules, who was trained to herd both geese and sheep, was the first dog on the scene at Yeager International Airport, with the AP reporting that he began his work there in 2018; he’s since become something of a local internet sensation. (Which makes sense; how can you resist that face?) Ned is a more recent addition to the team. Hercules has also spent some time inside the airport greeting passengers and generally being adorable.
Airports Worldwide Are Adding Therapy Animals From Dogs to Llamas
Flying can be stressful. This can help make it easier.The use of border collies to scare off wildlife isn’t the only way West Virginia International Yeager Airport has embraced the overlap of air travel and canines. In 2023, the airport hosted an event with Pilots to the Rescue — produced in conjunction with the distillery Swilled Dog — where a number of dogs were transported from shelters around Charleston to Jackson, Mississippi.
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