Traverse City reacts to loss of Piper, airport's famous dog

[douglas9]

For nearly three years, Piper the border collie has been the furry face of the Cherry Capital Airport K-9 Team, chasing birds away from the runways and keeping the Traverse City airport safer for planes and passengers.
But he was also the four-legged "chief morale officer" for the airport, and the adjacent U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City.
He was an ambassador for Traverse City area, and he'd made headlines worldwide.
His death Wednesday after a long but quiet bout with cancer came as a shock to many.
Condolences for Piper's owner and handler, Brian Edwards, flooded social media.
So did many tributes from the organizations Piper had worked with. Here are a few.

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/01/traverse_city_reacts_to_loss_o.html

[Cattledog]

1. RIP

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

3. Great picture...

Awesome dog and a beautiful Michigan sunset.

[Faygo Kid]

2. Thanks for posting. Great story, great life.

I'm retired to Tampa now, but TC is where my heart is. So was beloved Piper's.

[irisblue]

4. What an amazing obit. Humans can wish & work up to.

You know a whole bunch of AF guys were waiting at the far side of the Bridge.

[notawinger]

5. Rest In Peace Piper

[douglas9]

6. RIP Piper, a heroic dog who kept airport runways safe (WaPo-Pics)

Last edited Sat Jan 6, 2018, 08:35 AM - Edit history (1)

On the last day of his nine-year life, Piper, the border collie, chased a snowy owl from the runway at the airport in Traverse City, Mich. It was the 8,367th bird he had scared off in a three-year career as the airport’s K-9 wildlife control officer — which turned him into one of the nation’s most famous dogs.

Piper began his duties in late 2014 as the sidekick to his owner, airport operations manager Brian Edwards. The dog went viral a little more than a year later, when images of him — looking “Top Gun” chic in protective goggles — hit the social site Reddit. On Wednesday, he lost a year-long battle with prostate cancer, an illness Edwards did not reveal publicly until Piper’s death.

In an interview, Edwards said he kept his pet’s health troubles to himself partially out of a desire for privacy after a “crazy year,” but also because the pooch — who used his herding skills to clear the airfield of mammals like foxes and groundhogs, too — kept going until the end. The cancer was diagnosed in January 2016, but Edwards said Piper didn’t show symptoms until December. Even so, the duo worked a regular 10-hour shift on Christmas.

“I think we were lucky to get a year out of him,” Edwards said. “It’s cancer. It’s life. You can’t predict anything.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2018/01/05/rip-piper-a-heroic-dog-who-kept-airport-runways-safe/?utm_term=.8ddfe55c4856