Photo credit: Kim Upton, Metro.net

Meet Xxara — she’s one of 13 dogs who work for Los Angeles County’s Metro system, checking buses and trains for explosives. (The double letter at the beginning of her name indicates that she was named for either a fallen soldier, or a victim of 9/11.) She received her initial training at the TSA facility in Texas, which taught her how to detect explosives. Now she’s learning how to deal with things like skateboards, sprinklers, and escalators. Xxara is being teamed and trained with a sheriff’s deputy who will remain with her for her entire work life, typically 7 years.

Here’s Wilson, another Metro dog.

Photo credit: Anna Chen, Metro.net

Wilson and Xxara don’t work for food — it would be too risky to have them be distracted by the scent of a cheeseburger or other yummy item at a crucial moment. So their reward? Playing with a Kong toy, which looks like this:

Beloved of dog owners everywhere, Kong toys are natural rubber, safe to chew, hard to destroy, and actually good for a dog’s teeth. I can see why they’d be the plaything of choice for Wilson and Xxara.