02-06-2025
Internet Unprepared for TSA Agent's Response to Dog at Airport
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A video of a dog getting a "full pat down" by a TSA (Transportation Security Administration) official at the airport has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip, captured on May 18, was shared by @matthewandpaul and has had three million views since it was posted on May 21.
Text overlaid on the clip says: "Guide dog getting full pat down by airport security."
The video shows Paul Castle, who is from Seattle, Washington, at the airport security check area with his guide dog Mr. Maple.
Castle, who is legally blind and has less than five percent of his vision remaining, was born with a rare eye disease known as Retinitis Pigmentosa.
"Mr. Maple always gets a pat down at the airport due to the metal in his harness," Castle told Newsweek.
The viral clip shows Mr. Maple walking through a metal detection device, with Castle waiting at the other side of it, standing beside a TSA agent.
The agent is seen gently patting his hands around the pup's face and body.
A caption shared with the post says: "Should we call it a 'pet down'?"
Castle, who got Mr. Maple from Guide Dogs for the Blind in Oregon, has had his guide dog for four years.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website of the U.S. Department of Justice, service animals are defined as dogs of any breed and size that are "trained to perform a task directly related to a person's disability."
Service animals are not "required to be certified or go through a professional training program" or "to wear a vest or other ID that indicates they're a service dog," the website notes.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) notes that "airlines are required to recognize dogs as service animals and accept them for transport on flights to, within and from the United States."
Viewers on TikTok were delighted by the guide dog in the viral clip, with some wondering why the dog needed to get a full pat down at the airport.
Søren B Madsen 🇩🇰 asked "What can a dog hide?" and @wordsofnonsense said "where would he hide something."
DamselWithoutDistress wrote: "TSA looking for a secret pocket in his fur?"
Eris_christina noted' "definitely suspicious, Mr Maple was bribing the TSA with those kisses."
Jaimie Moore wrote: "I feel like the security man just wanted an excuse to pet maple."
1KCA1 said: "Any excuse to pet the pups!!!"
A stock image of a Labrador held on a leash in an airport setting.
A stock image of a Labrador held on a leash in an airport setting.
Getty
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