Shafts of fluorescent lighting made everything in Terminal D at Otopeni Airport appear grayish in the cold light. Many years of experience made Officer Andre very observant as he took in the crowd. Beside him on his leash was Luna, a large German Shepherd whose coat glimmered and who looked very smart. Over the last three years, they hadn’t separated. Luna has never made a mistake during her life.
Andreior sure of themselves, there is a risk of mistreatment.” He knew everything about the game.
Something changed on that night.
Luna came to an immediate stop. Her ears stood up, her tail got stiff and she stared hard at the woman in the stroller carrying a baby in a blue blanket. I noticed that the dog’s nostrils opened very wide as it smelled the air all around us. Nearly out of nowhere, I heard her throaty growl, warning me and everyone around her.
Andrei immediately saw the animal move. The air felt close and heavy and the loud noise from the crowd was gone as if it had never been. The woman, who was a slender brunette with big eyes and a ghostly face, held the pram firmly and couldn’t get the words out.
— Take away the dog from my baby!
Still, Luna did not obey her parents. She refused to listen to her handler’s instructions for the first time. She ran toward the stroller fast, slamming her large paws into its plastic body. The paper’s main section was removed and people were left speechless by what was inside.
The baby blanket was empty when I opened it. A thermal bag was put between the pillows and was tightly closed up. Russian and Chinese labels, also showing the hazard type, were put on this organism. I could observe shiny canisters inside, all of them smelling very chemically.
She reacted without hesitation. He walked the woman away, pulling on her arm, while Luna did not move, continuing to stare at what was in the stroller. A second officer then ran to summon the anti-terrorist team.
— What is this? I can’t see the child now. — As the woman’s eyes filled with tears, Andrei shouted at her.
Her eyes filled with tears as she partially spoke through her sobs.
– It was not a baby in the end. The person I was with suggested I bring it through security. I have no idea what is stored there.
After a very short time, the place was made secure. Experts wearing the correct protective clothing were sent to handle the containers that had been flagged.
Afterward, authorities tried to find out about an international group involved in trading banned biological goods. Based on the early investigation, the packages contained lab samples seen to be from Asia for use in a hidden Western European laboratory. Expert warnings included the chance that if released, these compounds could have started a major biological disaster.
The woman had been told she could earn large sums of money with no difficulty. Because she did not know what was inside, she said she would smuggle a “quiet package” through the border, telling officials it held a sleeping child.
Luna’s story was shared in many different places across the United States. Photos of Dog Lucky and Officer Popescu were shown on every TV station that night. Many praised the dog, saying her actions stopped what could have been a major event.
Andrei moved later on and would say:
— She served as more than a service dog during that evening. She probably kept an entire airport safe as well as all of Europe.
A routine check that night saved thousands of lives.
