Barni, a 5-year-old German shorthaired pointer whom you may have encountered while waiting in a TSA line at San Francisco International Airport, just won a prize for being cute from the TSA.

The Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) 2024 Cutest Canine Contest was held last week via social media, on multiple platforms, taking votes on four finalists chosen from 87 TSA K-9s. Among them was Barni, an explosives detection pooch who works the terminals at SFO — in the last year you may have been instructed to walk past him, in fact, two at a time with your luggage, before getting to the ID-check stations.

"Our explosives detection canines and their handlers are an essential component of TSA’s multi-layered approach to security,” says TSA Administrator David Pekoske in a statement. "I look forward to this contest every year, and the friendly competition among airports and then with the public is a great way to recognize their work to secure our transportation systems and keep the traveling public safe."

Barni's handler, Michelle Cogel, has been a canine handler at SFO for three years, and has worked for the TSA for six years. He actually goes home at night with Michelle, who says that when he's not at work "he’s free to be a goofball," and, per the TSA, "He loves to play fetch but mainly is obsessed with keeping fit by chasing squirrels."

Barni is one of over 1,000 canine teams trained at the TSA's Canine Training Center in San Antonio, Texas. They work to detect the scent of explosives in large groups of people, even if those scents are mobile — like in rolling luggage.

"The canines and their handlers train regularly, and the handlers learn to read subtle changes in their canine’s behavior when the scent of an explosive has been detected," the TSA explains.

Barni will now be featured on the front cover of the TSA’s downloadable 2025 Canine Calendar the agency will release in December.  

The TSA also congratulates the other three finalists in the Cutest Canine Contest, who were selected by TSA employees. They are: Carlo, a 3-year-old male Vizsla from Kansas City International Airport (MCI); Badger, a 5-year-old male Belgian Malinois from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), who was the runner-up; and Birdie, a 3-year-old Yellow Lab/Vizsla from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE).