“We get all kinds of birds depending on the time of year. “Wildlife is unpredictable,” Edwards says. During his four weekly 10-hour shifts, Piper chases away whatever troublemaker finds its way into the path of incoming planes.

“He’s pawing at the door to the truck, ready to go as soon as we’re out on the runway.” “And he’s always ready to work,” Edwards says.

Before long, Edwards had turned a loyal pet into an effective partner. “Piper works exclusively with me, in part because I carry his insurance, but we also make a good team.”Įdwards read up on dog training and quickly dove into training Piper and teaching him the tricks of the trade. “I’d read about canine wildlife control and thought that’s something can do, and it’s something he turned out to be great at,” Edwards says. Piper is the airport’s official wildlife control K-9 (and unofficial mascot) - one of only a handful in the United States.Ī 9-year-old border collie, Piper has been in charge of clearing the runways at Cherry Capital since August, 2014, when his handler, Brian Edwards, the airport’s operations supervisor, decided he could make good use of his canine companion on the job. He’s tasked with chasing any would-be pestiferous obstacles from the runways at Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, Mich. Piper, however, is a dog, and one with a job as important as just about any at an airport. You see adventure and bravery in that face - you almost see Tom Cruise in Top Gun. He’s the picture of dignity and diligence. He was a viral online sensation, when a (still unknown) photographer snapped a short video of him, standing on a snow-dusted runway, wearing his ultra-cool UV snow goggles as a helicopter takes off in the near background.

Piper traverse city airport dog