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The famous airport dog, Piper, has died of prostate cancer.
Piper was a border collie who had been a member of the K9 team in Cherry Capital Airport in Michigan. He started serving in 2014 and was responsible for wildlife control, chasing animals on the runway, and conducting patrols to ensure the safety of the planes and the passengers.
After three years of service, however, Piper passed away following his year-long battle with prostate cancer.
Piper became famous in 2016 when a video of him sporting his work uniform surfaced on the Internet. In it, he was wearing goggles, boots, and a vest while standing next to a helicopter that was about to take off. Because of his Internet fame, Piper eventually gained a huge following on social media, with 96,000 followers on Instagram and 26,000 on Facebook.
Before reaching Internet stardom, it took Piper a year before he became fully comfortable with his work tasks. According to Brian Edwards, his owner, dogs are not used to working in airports, and Piper had to be accustomed to the different sounds coming from the aircraft first.
Aside from Piper, other dogs are now also being tapped to work in the aviation industry, but for a different purpose.
The Pets Unstressing Passengers (PUP) program is a service offered at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) that aims to relieve the stress of passengers and give them a better airport experience. Therapy dogs are stationed around LAX, and the passengers can interact and bond with them while waiting for flights.