Thread by @ClaysandBirds

Every year as we move away from the events of 9/11, I find the images of the towers falling don’t impact the way they use to. I now try to focus on individual stories from that day to help remind me of the emotions I felt. This year I want to focus on the dogs of 9/11

Roughly 300 Search and Rescue dogs were deployed to ground zero. Only 100 were equipped to handle what they encountered. Most SAR dogs weren’t trained to handle large scale operations or urban environments. 9/11 rewrote the training guide for SAR dogs

The most famous dog from that day was Bretagne. She was the last known SAR dog that was at ground zero. She also worked rescue missions at Katrina and Ivan. One of her greatest contributions was acting as a spokesperson for the dogs of 9/11. She died on June 7, 2016

Riley is the subject of the most famous K9 photo from 9/11. Riley was trained to find living people and was not trained to be a cadaver dog. Despite this he continued to work tirelessly. Riley passed away on 2/26/10

Appollo was the first dog at ground zero. He arrived on the seen 15 minutes after the attack. He nearly died from falling flames and only survived because he previously fell in water and was still wet. He died in November of 2006

Trakr was driven down from Nova Scotia by his handler. He found the last known survivor from ground zero, Genelle Guzman. When his handler, Symington, was seen on TV by his department in Canada, he was suspended for leaving without permission. Trakr died in April of 09

Sirius is the only known K9 death. He was an explosive detection K9. He was in the S tower when the N tower was hit. His handlers last words to him were, “I think we’re in a lot of trouble. I will be back for you.” His handler locked him in his kennel before helping victims.

Worf found the remains of two firefighters on his first day. He was immediately retired because he emotionally shutdown and quit eating. "He kind of withdrew from everything. There was so much death there, it was emotional for the dogs." - Mike Owens his handler

The fact I misspelled scene is going to drive me nuts, but forgive me. I’ve been crying since midnight researching and compiling these stories

Ricky was the smallest SAR dog at ground zero. This was crucial for search operations as he could reach spots other dogs couldn’t. He would frequently go places his handler couldn’t see. He worked 10 days straight on the night shift.

Cowboy:

I’m not sure if this photo is Jake (it looks like him), but Jake was a rescue dog found abandoned in the streets. His handler trained him and he served with Utah Task Force 1 at ground zero.

Here is jake with his handler Mary Flood. He also served at Katrina

Woody from Ohio Task Force with handler Terry

Kinsey from Texas Task Force One

Tascha from Ohio Task Force with handler Gary Flynn

Guese and handler John Patrick

Unknown dog. Photo from September 15th

Thunder from Lakewood Washington.

Sage was deployed to the pentagon. It was her first mission. She found the body of the terrorist who flew flight 77 into the Pentagon

Coby and Guinness worked for 11 days on 12 hour shifts at ground zero. They found the remains of multiple people

Joey was a therapy dog who made numerous trips to ground zero. He was a former race dog.

Tikva was a therapy dog at ground zero

Maryland Task Force Rescue Team

Another photo of Trakr

Bretagne

While our government was withholding health insurance for first responders to ground zero, private pet insurance companies stepped up.
hamboneaward.com/riley-and-bail…

There is a SAR memorial statue at The West Orange 9/11 Memorial in NJ. The statue features a golden retriever looking across the river

Officer Lim with Sirius. After putting his dog in his kennel, Lim went to the first tower hit. He was stuck in a collapsed room for 5 hours in the north tower. During that time the south tower fell with Sirius was in it. I just wanted to clarify that he didn’t abandon him

Here are some photos that im not positive of who they are. If I repost some I apologize, but they deserve it

A video of the dogs from 9/11 and their appreciation ceremony

I have nothing to promote. Many of your local Search and Rescue organizations aren’t paid and need donations. GPS collars, food, gear, and gas are a few of their expenses. Here is the New England group nek9sar.org/donate/

Forgot one. Thanks for posting him.

Another I meant to post. Thank you!

Another photographers work about these dogs worth checking out

There was an error in this thread I need to correct. While I tried to research every photo, the photo of Appollo is actually of officer Lemma & Felix. It seems Appollo’s wikipedia page used the wrong photo. Lemma’s daughter @lemma_nade reached out to me. Here they both are

There was an error in this thread I need to correct. While I tried to research every photo, the photo of Appollo is actually of officer Lemma & Felix. It seems Appollo’s wikipedia page used the wrong photo. Lemma’s daughter @lemma_nade reached out to me. Here they both are

This Wikipedia article trigged a domino effect where other articles I cross referenced used the same photo. Here is a photo (I hope and think) of Appollo and his handler.

This Wikipedia article trigged a domino effect where other articles I cross referenced used the same photo. Here is a photo (I hope and think) of Appollo and his handler. We are going to try and fix the Wikipedia article

Honestly this was my worst nightmare for this thread when it went viral. Between misspelling scene and using the wrong photo it was an ugly unwanted combination.

I want to thank everyone who donated. I logged onto Instagram today and saw this. It’s always awesome to see people come together

This years thread: