This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dan Silva, Allied Universal’s SoCal K9 operations supervisor, who’s helping handlers secure the World Cup. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I started out in the Air Force in the early ’90s as a police officer and K-9 handler. After about eight years, I went into civilian law enforcement, and then I came over to Allied Universal, a private security company, which has over 800 explosive-detection K-9s nationwide and over 1,000 worldwide. I was a handler before becoming the SoCal K9 Operations Supervisor, and I’ve been with the company for about 10 years now.
I oversee operations for all 52 handlers from Los Angeles down to San Diego. I also have a K-9 to work at sites where we need additional help.
My partner is Fitz, a 7-year-old black lab who specializes in explosive detection. He’s a more seasoned, confident dog who has been doing this since he was about 2 years old. He has a laid-back personality, but when it’s go-time, he perks up and gets very excited.
Securing the World Cup takes months of preparation for K-9 units
For the World Cup, we’re covering way more than one venue. We’re securing every hotel the teams are staying in, every practice venue, SoFi Stadium, and other related sites across Southern California. We’ll probably deploy around 20 K-9 teams that will rotate through different venues.
An event of this scale requires months of behind-the-scenes preparation. My team has been talking about World Cup operations for about a year because we worked on FIFA-related events last year. But the actual meetings, walkthroughs, scheduling, and deployment planning have been happening for the past three months or so.
Every venue poses different threats, so we’re working with local law enforcement at each site. Some might need a more robust security presence, like where the US team practices, because there are so many local fans who want to see them. Others may not have as much interest, but each of them is equally important.
A good K-9 team relies on trust and repetition
A typical day for our handlers starts early at their assigned post so the dogs can settle in. They split up to complete initial sweeps of a facility. Once safe, they man high-visibility posts to deter people from trying anything dangerous. Handlers and K-9s also respond to unattended bags, vehicle sweeps, or anything suspicious.
In general, K-9s are trained every day, whether they’re working an official shift or not. People often think these dogs detect multiple things, like narcotics and explosives, but they’re strictly single-purpose dogs. We keep them focused on explosives.
At our Connecticut training center, there’s an initial imprinting process in which dogs are introduced to every known explosive odor, one at a time. Trainers don’t move on until the dog demonstrates proficiency with the odor they’re learning. Then they’re paired with handlers, and they train as a team. It becomes a daily game of hide-and-seek with training aids and keeping the dogs motivated because they can get bored if they search for too long without a reward.
Handlers need to have a great relationship with their dog to recognize what we call a COB, or a change of behavior. People think a dog always sits when they find something, but that’s not always the case. Our handlers notice other subtle ways a dog might show unusual interest in an object or person. When that happens, we’ll check it out.
If nothing happens during the World Cup, we’ve done our job
These dogs are amazing at what they do. I remember a handler working a movie premiere in LA, and their dog signaled a change of behavior on an individual in the will-call line. Security pulled the person aside and located a single bullet in their pocket.
I hope fans understand the amount of training and dedication that goes into this; the handlers work tirelessly. The dogs aren’t always out there finding bombs, but they serve a huge purpose at these events. It’s the type of job where you don’t get many accolades because you can’t easily measure the crises you prevent.
Deterrence and prevention are our No. 1 goal. For explosive-detection K-9 teams, success is measured by finding explosives, preventing incidents, and deterring threats before they occur. If we can get through the World Cup without anyone getting injured or trying to harm others, that’s a win.
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