The Heroic Search and Rescue Dogs Who Responded to America’s Collective Trauma
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This year will mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. We will honor the 10,000 emergency workers who worked heroically, who faced deadly carcinogens and chemicals, and in many cases have died young or endured living with terrible illnesses and diseases, for what was a mostly futile endeavor.
But they could not do it alone. More than 300 of those heroes were dogs. A variety of breeds participated in the rescue efforts, including Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Rat Terriers, Golden Retrievers, Portuguese Waterdogs, Belgian Shepherds, and Border Collies, to name a few. Teams of dogs and handlers specially trained in search and rescue, police work, therapy and comfort were utilized to assist the search and rescue efforts. These unwavering doggies with their human partners consoled the distraught, and clambered over and through mountains of devastation dutifully seeking any indication of victims.
Here is a video that provides background and an overview of how special these pups are, seen at Arizona Search Dogs, one of hundreds of training facilities in the USA.
Apollo
Apollo was a German Shepherd, who worked with the first New York Police Department K-9 Urban Search and Rescue Team. Apollo and his handler, Pete Davis, arrived at the South Tower just 15 minutes after it collapsed, making them the first search and rescue dog team on site after the strikes. Together, they toiled nearly 18 hours daily.
During their effort, Apollo nearly lost his life to flames and falling debris. By luck, he was soaked from falling in a pool of water and narrowly dodged falling flames and debris. He dashed right back to work after Officer Davis brushed some rubble off him. Apollo persisted, working diligently until he showed signs of severe exhaustion and required treatment.
On March 5, 2002, Apollo received the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, on behalf of all search and rescue dogs who aided in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.
Ricky
At 17 inches tall and weighing only 18 pounds, Ricky, a three-year old Rat Terrier from Seattle, was the tiniest search and rescue dog at Ground Zero. At a young age, he exhibited incredible intelligence and his firefighter mother, Janet Linker, began to train him as a SAR dog. Ricky excelled and became a member of the Puget Sound Urban Search and Rescue team.
On September 19, 2001, Ricky and Janet deployed to Ground Zero with members of their Puget Sound group. The team included three other rescue dogs and 62 firefighters, and was one of 28 elite SAR teams that were organized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
While Rat Terriers aren’t archetypal SAR dogs, Ricky’s slight size gave him an immense advantage. He was able to reach locations that larger SAR dogs couldn’t, like buckled subway tunnels and stairwells. He was able to scale ladders, run intricate patterns, and ascertain the difference between living and deceased victims.
For 10 days straight, Ricky and Linker carefully combed through the rubble in tandem with another SAR pair, Kent Olson and “Thunder”, a five-year-old Golden Retriever. Ricky would disappear into tiny spaces to find victims. If he found a victim, Thunder, the more experienced of the two, would authenticate the find. In addition to discovering multiple victims, the canine pair salvaged personal items, such as jewelry, that were delivered to victims’ families.
Riley
Riley was a four-year-old Golden Retriever and a member of FEMA’s Pennsylvania Task Force 1. He worked alongside his handler, Chris Selridge, a firefighter in Johnstown, PA, from the evening of September 11th to the 19th.
Riley was specifically qualified as a live-find dog. Unfortunately, 27 hours after the attacks the last live victim was located and the efforts turned from rescue to recovery. Without any formal training as a cadaver dog, Riley helped recover several remains of firefighters. He never gave up hope and sought desperately to find living survivors.
Riley seized the nation’s attention in one of the most iconic photos from the relief effort at Ground Zero. Taken on September 15th, 2001, by U.S. Navy photojournalist, 1st Class Preston Keres, the image of Riley calmly lying in a Stokes basket being towed carefully on a rope trolley high above a 60-foot-deep abyss appeared in newspapers and on websites across the world.
Hansen
Hansen was a 7-year-old Belgian Shepherd dog, who worked alongside his handler, retired NYPD officer and then-chief of the Lindenhurst Fire Department, Steve Smaldon. While most dogs labored for 7-14 days, this remarkable team worked for 150 days, searching for victims!
On one fateful day, they climbed down into a 100-foot hole where Hansen located several remains. Shortly after materializing from its depths, Hansen raced up the hill, furiously alerting. After first responders burrowed through the rubble, the remains of two NYPD officers, Officer John William Perry and Sgt. Michael Curtin, were found.
A statue of Hansen was erected in Lindenhurst Remembers Memorial Garden on New York’s Long Island. Regrettably, vandals savagely destroyed the statue in 2011. The community worked quickly to replace and re-dedicate the statues on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
Trakr
Trakr, a German Shepherd from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was a police dog who worked for six years, helping find people, evidence, and stolen goods. Prior to deploying to Ground Zero, Trakr had a flourishing reputation and was credited with hundreds of arrests and “retrieved” more than one million dollars in stolen goods.
On September 11th, Trakr and his handler, Canadian Police Officer James Symington, drove 15 hours to offer their services. Upon arriving, they began locating numerous victims. On September 12th, approximately 27 hours after the first plane hit, Trakr pinpointed Genelle Guzman-MicMillan, the last survivor found beneath the rubble.
On September 14th, after working tirelessly for days, Trakr collapsed from smoke and chemical inhalation, burns, and exhaustion. Gratefully, he was treated for his injuries and able to return home with James.
In the later years of his life, Trakr remained devoted to helping others. He relished visiting children’s organizations, schools, and hospitals, always spending a little extra time with those who needed an extra helping of unconditional love most. Trakr passed away in April of 2009 at the age of 16.
Bretagne
Bretagne (pronounced Brit-nee) was a Golden Retriever trained in SAR from outside of Houston, Texas. At the young age of two-years-old, Bretagne and her handler, Capt. Denise Corliss of the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department, traveled to Ground Zero with the Texas Task Force 1. It was their first deployment together and, while formidable, both Denise and Bretange were prepared for the challenge.
Over a ten-day mission at Ground Zero, the team worked 12-hour days seeking signs of victims. While trained as a SAR dog, Bretagne generously and unconditionally provided emotional support to other emergency responders at Ground Zero.
During her seven years of active duty, Bretagne and Denise participated in rescue efforts of major hurricanes like Katrina, Rita, and Ivan. In her retirement, she mentored other search dogs in training and volunteered at a reading program at a local elementary school.
Just shy of her 17th birthday, Bretagne passed peacefully surrounded by her devoted companions, Denise and Randy Corliss. Bretagne received a hero’s farewell from her fellow members of the rescue team Texas Task Force 1 and the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department.
She was the last known surviving dog that responded to Ground Zero.
These are just six of the amazing dogs, who risked their lives to save others on September 11th, 2001.
These dogs had their day.
Bone-Deep
