Two years in a row, people around the country have voted dogs serving in Pittsburgh International Airport as some of the cutest.
Last year, bomb-sniffing dog Steeler won Transportation Security Administration's title of 2025 Top Canine of the Year. This year, Epic, a four-year-old Labrador retriever
who works as a sniffing dog at PIT, was among the semifinalists for the same contest, according to a press release from TSA."Epic has served the Pittsburgh area for approximately two years," said Explosives Detection Canine Handler Devon Flaig, Epic's partner. "Epic loves to chase the ball in his free time, and his favorite reward is playing with a Gappay ball. He also enjoys eating chicken jerky."
The local Lab made it to the semifinals one year after
Steeler won the same contest.
Cast your vote for top dog in TSA K9 contest
While Epic was voted out in the second round of voting, you can still cast your vote for the final round of the TSA's Cutest Canine Contest. Voting opened at noon Eastern Time on Aug. 19 and will run for 24 hours. Votes can be cast on TSA's social media through Instagram Stories, X Poll and Facebook Stories.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday, Aug. 26, National Dog Day.
Pittsburgh sniffer pup wins 2025 TSA K9 contest
Epic isn't the first contestant to hail from Pittsburgh. Last year, Steeler, a three-and-a-half-year-old Labrador retriever who works as an explosives detection canine, won the title of 2025 Top Canine of the Year.
At work, Steeler helps sniff out possible explosives, a job he took a little more than a year before last year's contest, according to a press release from TSA. During his free time, he loves fetching balls, playing with a tug rope and eating jumbo hot dogs. Born on Super Bowl Sunday 2023, he and his littermates were named after NFL teams, with Steeler taking the title of Pittsburgh's home team.
Steeler was featured on the front cover of the TSA 2026 Canine Calendar.
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pittsburgh TSA dog voted out in final four of cutest canine contest
