Meet the bomb dogs at Safeco Field

You might have noticed special K-9 teams hard at work at Safeco Field sniffing around for bombs.

King County Sheriff’s deputy Jonathon Akiona and his dog, Chase, are one of three teams working behind the scenes in the locker room, press box, and field before fans arrive for a Mariners game. The dogs and their handlers are looking for suspicious, unattended bags or items that might have an explosive inside.

From curious Safeco Field employees to excited young fans, Akiona and Chase get a lot of attention. To help answer all their questions, the deputy made his own cards to hand out. The Mariners loved the idea and decided to design their own baseball cards for the three K-9 teams.

“Each (K-9) team has a card with a picture of their dog, a story, some stats – when the dog was born, where the dog came from, where the dog was trained – on the back of the card,” Akiona said.

There are four cards total: One card for each dog and a fourth card featuring the whole unit.

Akiona said the real goal of the cards is to let fans know why the dogs are at Safeco Field. They aren’t there to find drugs, which is a common misconception, but they are keeping the stadium safe.

It’s also great PR for the K-9 teams. “People, kids especially, love seeing the dogs. When we give them a card, the hope is that they’ll want to come back and collect the other cards,” Akiona said.

While the dogs are a hit with the kids, Akiona said the players occasionally approach Chase for a little play time before a game.

“When we’re on the field, players will start throwing the ball toward Chase thinking he’s going to chase the ball and distract him. They look confused when my dog just ignores the ball and continues with his work,” he said.

Chase is not a ball dog.

While Akiona’s only been working at Safeco Field for three years, he said he’s heard stories about the practical jokes of Ken Griffey, Jr.

“The other handlers would tell me that when they’d go in, Griffey knew they were coming and he’d want to set something up to get the dogs to hit on another player’s locker as a joke,” Akiona said. “I heard he was a character.”

Of course, sweeping a stadium for explosives is a serious business and Akiona said they don’t break unless a player stops them.

Besides Mariners home games, Akiona said the three K-9 teams, one of which works for the Seattle Police Department, are busy year-round covering games for the Seahawks and University of Washington football.

So the next time you’re at a stadium, ask around for Chase, Dennis, or Rio. And be sure to ask them for a baseball card.