MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - South Florida is ready to host yet another Orange Bowl game and law enforcement officers are doing a thorough inspection of the Hard Rock Stadium grounds hours before the event to ensure guest safety.
The stakes are high and energized college fans have been waiting all season for this big game.
“Lets go Penn State!”
“Lets go Notre Dame!”
But for the men and women in blue, they’re all focused on security.
Hours before the game, over 16 K-9 unit dogs were sweeping the stadium grounds to ensure the fan’s safety.
“I feel safe. Perfectly safe. No problem,” said a fan.
“That doesn’t bother me at all I’m a huge dog lover. I love it,” said another.
7News got a first-hand interaction with one of the dogs, whose name is Murph.
Cameras followed him around as he was sniffing through boxes, walking the hallways, and checking for any explosives.
But this security sweep is a collaborative effort.
“Different type of explosive dogs we have some that actually will walk through crowds to pick up any odor,” said Pedro Villalonga with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit.
On-site, other dogs went around the stadium seats.
These dogs are specially trained to detect guns and drugs.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit wants to warn fans not to be alarmed as they will be on-site throughout the duration of the game.
“We do a 200-hour training with him for explosives and then after that, basically our bread and butter is explosives. We do constant training with him so they are ready for these events”, said Villalonga. “We want the fans that are coming to know that they are our number one priority.”
Thousands of fans are expected at the Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday.
Attendees should note that there will be multiple checkpoints and K-9s will be present.
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