FIFA World Cup: Dogs helping keep fans, athletes safe

World Cup matches look peaceful on TV, but up on the rooftops, elite snipers are watching everything. Part of a massive security web, drones, bomb squads, thousands of officers, to stop real threats before they start. K9 Quinn of Dog squad, was on the job at the FIFA World Cup, helping keep fans, athletes, and the community safe alongside Klein ISD.
In Los Angeles, large political protests occurred during Iran’s matches in the stadium. “There’s a different threat level when that’s happening,” said Glen Kucera, President of Allied Universal Enhanced Protection Services, the biggest provider of private canine security services in the U.S. About 300 of his firm’s 1,000 dog teams have been employed in World Cup security, he said. 
The scale of the World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico has presented challenges for security organisers. Not only have there been matches at stadiums in 16 cities in the three countries, but security has been needed for training grounds, hotels and transportation routes. Some matches, like the Iran games in L.A., have been accompanied by protests.
Private security teams were around the perimeter, with dogs sniffing at vehicles. Anybody going into the stadium was going to have to pass close by a public safety dog. “That’s the point. Everybody attending is likely to realise they’re being assessed by the nose of a security dog, something which provides a key deterrent to a terrorist or any other person planning something dangerous,” Kucera said. “Ninety-five percent of what we do is a visual deterrent.” 
Not all security risks are from terror threats. Fans in many countries commonly celebrate goals or wins with fireworks, so security officials were keen to stop such items being brought into stadiums by well-meaning supporters.