There’s a new employee at the UTA Transit Police Department, but you won’t see him driving a police car or checking riders for fare. Bobbie, an explosives detection dog, has joined the agency to help search for illegal or potentially dangerous substances on buses, trains and UTA property. 

Bobbie is trained to find and investigate suspicious or unattended bags and packages, signaling to an officer or “pointing” when he detects one of the 20 odors he’s been taught to find. The seven-year-old German shorthaired pointer has served in the U.S. Marine Corps and the West Valley Police Department, and is skilled in working in public places around crowds, children and other animals.

Bobbie will help enhance proactive security measures on the system, UTA Transit Police Chief Fred Ross said. The security detection dog was selected to help the department quickly evaluate potentially dangerous situations and decrease system delay times during police incidents.

“We’re always searching for innovative ways to keep our system safe without creating unnecessary passenger delays,” Ross said. “Bobbie’s unique training allows him to check for threats much more quickly than human officers.”

Bobbie’s handler, Officer Chad Ziegenhorn, said Bobbie is a friendly dog who loves to play. If you see Bobbie, feel free to come up and say hello, but please check with his attending officer first to make sure that you’re not interrupting Bobbie at work. If Bobbie really likes you, he may even step gently on your foot and lean against you, which Ziegenhorn said is Bobbie’s favorite way of showing affection.

UTA is joining many other transit agencies that already use security detection dogs, including TriMet in Portland, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, and Valley Metro in Phoenix. UTA Chief Safety and Security Officer Dave Goeres said other agencies report that the presence of K9 units in the field have been shown to deter many types of criminal activity.