The unsung canine heroes of 911 (12 of 100 remain)

This morning I received this email from a family member and wanted to share it with all of you. I know here at ATS we tend to love all animals and seem to have a special admiration and connection with the canine world.

These are the dogs that worked the trade center that are still alive but retired, they are heroes too, -Their eyes say everything you need to know about them. Just amazing creatures. Not many cats showed up. Heroes of 9/11 still with us today...

Moxie, 13, from Winthrop, Massachusetts, arrived with her handler, Mark Aliberti, at the World Trade Center on the evening of September 11 and searched the site for eight days.

Tara, 16, from Ipswich, Massachusetts, arrived at the World Trade Center on the night of the 11th. The dog and her handler Lee Prentiss were there for eight days

Kaiser, 12, pictured at home in Indianapolis, Indiana, was deployed to the World Trade Center on September 11 and searched tirelessly for people in the rubble

Bretagne and his owner Denise Corliss from Cypress, Texas, arrived at the site in New York on September 17, remaining there for ten days.

Guinness, 15, from Highland, California, started work at the site with Sheila McKee on the morning of September 13 and was deployed at the site for 11 days.

Merlyn and his handler Matt Claussen were deployed to Ground Zero on September 24, working the night shift for five days.

Red, 11, from Annapolis, Maryland, went with Heather Roche to the Pentagon from September 16 until the 27 as part of the Bay Area Recovery Canines.

Abigail, above, was deployed on the evening of September 17, searching for 10 days while Tuff arrived in New York at 11:00 pm on the day of attack to start working early the next day.

Handler Julie Noyes and Hoke were deployed to the World Trade Center from their home in Denver on September 24 and searched for five days.

Scout and another unknown dog lie among the rubble at Ground Zero, just two of nearly 100 search and rescue animals who helped to search for survivors

During the chaos of the 9/11 attacks, where almost 3,000 people died, nearly 100 loyal search and rescue dogs and their brave owners scoured Ground Zero for survivors. Now, ten years on, just 12 of these heroic canines survive, and they have been commemorated in a touching series of portraits entitled 'Retrieved'. The dogs worked tirelessly to search for anyone trapped alive in the rubble, along with countless emergency service workers and members of the public. Traveling across nine states in the U.S. from Texas to Maryland, Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas, 34, captured the remaining dogs in their twilight years in their homes where they still live with their handlers, a full decade on from 9/11. Their stories have now been compiled in a book, called Retrieved, which is published on Friday, the tenth anniversary of the attacks. Noted for her touching portraits of animals, especially dogs, Charlotte wanted 'Retrieved' to mark not only the anniversary of the September 2001 attacks, but also as recognition for some of the first responders and their dogs. 'I felt this was a turning point, especially for the dogs, who although are not forgotten, are not as prominent as the human stories involved,' explained Charlotte, who splits her time between New York and Amsterdam. 'They speak to us as a different species and animals are greatly important for our sense of empathy and to put things into perspective.' Charles Mayfield

Now I do not know about you but this email just tore me up. With so many horrible things happening in the world today it was like a reminder to stay in my heart and keep what is most important in perspective as we wander through our daily lives and the changes that come daily.

I admit, I have forgotten these unsung heroes, and was so privileged to receive this message and reminder this morning.

I tried to share this with my Grandpa, and I just couldn't hardly get through without stopping to catch my breath as the emotions rose to cut off my words.

So many people think that dogs are useless vermin, that they have no soul or that they do not suffer the pain of weather, hunger or loss of a loved one. These beautiful creatures of Gods design are highly evolved souls in the animal kingdom and will find their rewards in the next life imho.

Hi, Could someone help me to enlarge the photos of the dogs? It really is important to get the full spectrum of their pictures especially their eyes, they really do tell the story of their heroic past and the suffering and trauma they endured to find survivors and the remains of those less fortunate.

Thank you in advance.

I get all teary when I start talking about dogs. They are such wonderful and loyal creatures. I will be forever grateful for the ones who share my life.

Thanks for posting. It's a wonderful look at some of our true heroes.

Forward the email to me and I'll see what I can do with the pics.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Omgosh, even your reply has the waterworks going again, I feel your honesty and the fact your loyalty to your Avatar has been unwavering... email sent.

reply to post by antar

There is a huge contingent of animal lovers on this site. Yay!!! To the canine heroes (so often forgotten in many human endeavours!) of 9/11, I salute you with teary eyes. As for resizing the photos, I think you will need to find a larger source image. Scaling these up might introduce some ugly pixellation or other artifacts. If you have a link to where you found these, people might be able to help with larger photos. In any case, they all look sweet as a nut to me. Thanks for posting. Bump, star and slightly damp flag.

You are so right about the eyes! Such precious creatures...

Of course it's 10+ years later now and most of these dogs would probably be dead from old age as dogs die, same as humans.

That's not to say some of them didn't die from inhaling all the crap in the rubble.

Dogs make the world a better place

Dog backwards is God. Dogs, unlike some of us humans, to me are very "Godlike"--selfless, devoted, loving, and loyal. I cannot imagine a world without them! Thank you for this post. Nice to know these brave dogs have not been forgotten.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

Yay! Thanks for the photographic justice. Bump!

Dogs truly are amazing creatures. Here's some more heroes -

5 Of the Most Badass Soldiers Ever (Happened to be Dogs)

Rags -

When Donovan was transferred to the frontline, he didn't want to risk Rags' life, so he left the little guy behind. The dog, however, wasn't having any of it, and tracked Donovan to the trenches. Realizing that the pup was good at finding his way around, Donovan adapted a secondary strategy: He taught Rags how to run messages between the command and the frontline.

Gander -

The first wave of the attack was stopped by a gaping, furiously barking maw followed by 170 pounds of pitch-black, furry battering ram, mowing down the terrified Japanese at thigh height. After doing away with them, Gander roared down on a second Japanese unit he spotted advancing on a group of injured Royal Rifles, this time adding biting to his already impressive "invincible night demon" repertoire. Again, the enemy fled, because who wouldn't?

www.cracked.com...

reply to post by freedom12


Yes out of over 100 canine heroes, only a small handful are still with us today. And I too as many others have discussed here on this forum the possibilities of the dogs being affected by the same toxic materials from 911 which has killed many if not most of the brave firefighters and police and individuals, who risked, gave their lives to help everyone they could that day.

reply to post by Maluhia


Ok just finished the story about "Rags" Wow, what a glorious hero.

Will finish reading the rest and maybe bring a picture or two of them over from your link if that is fine with you? Thanks for the great contribution, it was a privilege to read and discover, (not through reading yet, lol)

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


True and for all the love and attention they hopefully have received since 911, you would think that they would have bright and happy eyes, but you can see they still hold the truth and the terror of that day.

reply to post by antar

Will finish reading the rest and maybe bring a picture or two of them over from your link if that is fine with you?

Absolutely fine - go for it! Great stories to share.

Those dogs have eyes like they have been here before,full of wisdom.Whenever I read stories like these I can't stop myself from crying,and I have three cats for gods sake.

I spent 10 days at ground zero as part of the rescue/recovery effort. After a long 16 hour day spent on the rubble I walked back to Stuyvesant High School. When I reached the school I sat on the sidewalk near a rescue dog. His paws were dust covered and we were both exhausted.

He raised his head when I sat down and looked at me, and it was as though he could sense I was heartbroken by what I had witnessed. He walked over, laid next to me and put his head in my lap. I pet his head, let him drink some water as I poured it from my water bottle and wondered what toll it was all taking on him. We sat there together for about an hour before his handler took him back down to the rubble, however, for that brief moment, amidst all the horror and chaos, I felt at peace. Dogs are truly brave and noble animals.

Trying to type this thru tears , I don't think my iPad is waterproof.

I just wanted to share with all of you that I was the proud mommy of one of those 9/11 doggy heros. Our baby, K-9 Trooper EJ. Spent over a week at ground zero with my husband and they both came home different. One year and two months later our baby passed away at the tender age of four and a half. I am convinced his time down there had something to do with it. my husband won't talk about his time down there, he only spoke a little about it when he first came back and the stories about the dogs just broke my heart. They often had to stop and give them oxygen, people would line the streets in the morning to greet all the first responders on their way to work. he told me how depressed the dogs would get because they weren't finding anyone alive. It's just so sad.

reply to post by timetothink


Oh bless your soul, ii have chills and tears too from feeling rather than reading your amazing post, PLEASE please my friend, start a special thread in the 911 forum telling this miraculous story. You do have pictures? And a brief interview with your husband would be simply amazing. thank you so much for coming into this thread and telling your story.

reply to post by IamAbeliever


I bow to you. You have been touched by the Angels. My heart opens for you and that beautiful soul in a dog suit, if there is such a thing as timelessness, I am there loving you both right now.