RIP Piper, a heroic dog who kept airport runways safe
by Karin Brulliard January 5 at 2:52 PM
On the last day of his nine-year life, Piper, the border collie, chased a snowy owl from the runway at the airport in Traverse City, Mich. It was the 8,367th bird he had scared off in a three-year career as the airport’s K-9 wildlife control officer — which turned him into one of the nation’s most famous dogs.
Piper began his duties in late 2014 as the sidekick to his owner, airport operations manager Brian Edwards. The dog went viral a little more than a year later, when images of him — looking “Top Gun†chic in protective goggles — hit the social site Reddit. On Wednesday, he lost a year-long battle with prostate cancer, an illness Edwards did not reveal publicly until Piper’s death.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2018/01/05/rip-piper-a-heroic-dog-who-kept-airport-runways-safe/?sw_bypass=true&utm_term=.15db7e93deff
