The Dogs

While waiting for the train home, I saw about four guards with their dogs waiting on the platform at Clark and Lake. After keeping my distance for a minute or two, I decided to approach them and asked a few questions.

Honestly – this whole time, I thought they were part of some governmental force on the lookout for either drugs or radioactive material. What I found out was… these guys are hired by the CTA, and are actually part of a private security company.

On talking with one of the guys, he explained that since firearms are illegal in Chicago… they had dogs. His exact words were: “these dogs… they’re our guns.” All of the guys were extremely friendly (as most CTA folks seem to be), and were pretty cool with answering my questions. But when I asked to take their pictures (and it would have been a sweet shot too, with all four guards and their dogs), they all bristled and immediately declined.

Apparently, this was against the rules for CTA employees. But the guy I was talking to said this: “Because of our jobs, we have to say no. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do whatever you want to.”

As the train pulled up, I grabbed this quick shot (and made sure to not get anyone’s face in the image). I’m really glad I decided to walk up and talk to these guys. This whole time, I assumed they were part of some Federal drug enforcement deal, or Homeland Security. Turns out… they’re not looking for terrorists or coke mules, they’re just hanging out at various stations to make sure everyone’s safe.