Man's best friend & the Canine Heroes of 9/11

People can normally be summed up as either a dog person or a cat person. I have very much always been a dog person. My favorite dogs have always been Labradors and working dogs in general - this is probably thanks to my Dad who coming from Ireland had many working dogs including a lovely black Labrador called Ceaser whom he left in Ireland .I can't remember what I did yesterday most of the time but I can remember that dog.  I can also remember my big strong Dad breaking down in tears one evening when my Cousin had passed news on that Ceaser had died, that was the bond between man and his dog.

There is a point to this post (I promise) -this week has been the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 and I wanted to write about where I was and how I felt when this happened .. and I probably will later this weekend but after reading and watching so much about 9/11 this week, I remembered reading some stories a couple of years ago about dogs and their part to play in the aftermath of 9/11. 

Just in New York there were nearly 350 Search and Rescue (SAR) Dogs deployed to help aid the search rescue operation at Ground Zero.This included 80 dogs that were sent from FEMA These dogs were  to remain there for days, helping firemen, police, FEMA staff  and in some cases brave owners that had volunteered to help,to find anybody still alive in the "Stack" These are called Live Find Dogs .. the dogs would work with their Humans 16 hours a day, crawling through every space possible to try and find survivors, digging and sniffing their way round. 

As the dogs found less and less survivors they became remarkably depressed and disheartened when they found no survivors. The fireman took to hiding in rubble so that the dogs could find them and feel motivated to then carry on and look for more survivors. 

Later dogs were brought in to provide emotional support to rescue workers - these dogs are trained to identify trauma and people feeling depressed and stressed 

I read a lot about this on this website which contains quotes and other information about the dogs and people involved.  

I also found out that a book has been written called "Retrieved " this book is about the story of some of the remaining dogs that are still alive and the stories behind their rescue attempts at 9/11 - Dutch Photographer Charlotte Dumas travelled across America to capture these brave dogs in their twilight years - this picture is one of my favorites - 

Moxie is now 13 and arrived at Ground Zero on the evening of 9/11 and searched with her handler for 8 days - she just looks brave and proud. She is now retired and living with her handler 

Finally I read this story which is even more amazing.  Omar Eduardo Rivera is and found himself on the 71st Floor of one of the towers, when it was stuck that day. His guide dog Dorado led him out of the tower 71 Floors down slowly nudging and encouraging him by nudging his legs, so he did't loose his way. Omar even states that he let him off his lead as to give him a chance to get out, but Dorado faithfully stayed by his owners side until he was out of the tower safe. Moments later the tower collapsed : the full story can be found here 

And so that's my blog for this evening - I know I have used lots of pictures as well as words, but as I have said before images sum up a lot about a moment in time. The pictures I have used this evening have done just that. I could write stories all evening about these brave dogs and indeed the stories I have read and seen on TV this week about the brave humans involved, but for now I will leave it there. I think it's time to go and play "fetch" with Duncan. Who has changes would have it has brave parents as him mum and dad are police dogs! As for these stories this evening, I am sure even the most ardent cat person would have to admit on this occasion these dogs deserve the title "Man's best friend"