CBSA’s new detector dog at Halifax airport has had a ruff life

Canada Border Services Agency showed off its new detector dog at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Thursday.

“Spencer is a very affectionate, hard-working dog. He loves to work. He gets excited, as you can see his tail going and his paws dancing,” Krystal Daigle, detector dog handler for the agency, said.

She showed off her canine partner’s skills during a presentation offered to media the agency.

The two-year-old beagle, brought in from a Canadian rescue organization, was trained at a facility in Rigaud, Que., and also trained with Daigle.

“Spencer finds a lot of meat products and produce, and other plant and animal products that come into the country from international travellers,” Daigle, who lives with the dog, said.

If those products are found, there can be penalties of up to $1,300 for the carrier.

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The agency said that employees seized 295 products last year in the Atlantic region.

Spencer, the airport’s only detector dog, and Daigle have been working at the airport together for about two months.

The duo’s shift is normally eight to nine hours a day in length.

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“He works four to eight flights a day and takes breaks in between,” Daigle added.

Spencer can do the job for between eight to 10 years.

“My colleagues absolutely adore him. It takes a lot for them to see him every day and not get to play with him the way I do,” Daigle said with a laugh.