When we remember September 11, 2001, we remember the first responders, volunteers, and everyday people who showed extraordinary courage during an unimaginable tragedy. Working alongside many of them were highly trained search-and-rescue dogs who used their incredible senses to navigate unstable rubble, search for survivors, and assist recovery teams at Ground Zero and the Pentagon. These dogs and their handlers worked through exhausting and dangerous conditions, becoming an important part of the rescue effort and a source of hope for those around them.
Riley
Riley was a Golden Retriever who worked with Pennsylvania Task Force 1 at Ground Zero. His job was to search the rubble for survivors, something he had been specifically trained to do. Riley became one of the more recognizable dogs from 9/11 after a photo was taken of him being transported across the debris in a basket. The photo gave people a glimpse of just how difficult the conditions were for both the dogs and their handlers.
Riley lived to be 13 years old, passing away in 2010. His life after 9/11 also contributed to research looking at the long-term health of dogs who worked in search-and-rescue environments.
Appollo
Appollo was a German Shepherd with the NYPD and an experienced member of the city's K-9 search-and-rescue program. On September 11, Appollo and his handler, Peter Davis, became the first K-9 search-and-rescue team to arrive at the South Tower site, reaching the area only about 15 minutes after the building collapsed.
In the weeks that followed, Appollo reportedly worked as many as 18 hours a day searching for survivors. His dedication earned him an AKC Humane Fund Award for Canine Excellence in 2001. He was also awarded the Dickin Medal on behalf of all of the search-and-rescue dogs who served following the September 11 attacks.
Sage
Sage was only two years old when she was sent to the Pentagon with her handler, Diane Whetsel. Despite being so young, the Border Collie was already highly trained in search-and-rescue work and had earned FEMA's highest level of certification.
Her career continued long after 9/11. Sage later helped following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and was deployed to Iraq in 2007. After retiring, she also participated in research that followed the health of dogs who had worked during the 9/11 response. Sage lived to be 13 years old.
Bretagne
Bretagne was another young dog when she arrived at Ground Zero. The two-year-old Golden Retriever and her handler, Denise Corliss, worked 12-hour shifts for 10 days as part of the search-and-rescue effort.
Bretagne went on to respond to several other disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ivan. When she eventually retired from search-and-rescue work, she found a new way to help people by spending time with elementary school children as a reading assistance dog.
Bretagne became especially well known later in life as the last surviving search-and-rescue dog known to have worked at Ground Zero. When she passed away at 16 in 2016, firefighters and search-and-rescue personnel lined the sidewalk to honor her one final time.
Trakr
Trakr, a German Shepherd, came to New York with his handler, Canadian police officer James Symington. While searching the World Trade Center rubble, Trakr alerted rescuers to the location of Genelle Guzman-McMillan, who had been trapped beneath the debris for more than 24 hours.
Guzman-McMillan was rescued alive and became the last survivor pulled from the World Trade Center rubble. Trakr's part in finding her made his story one of the best-known stories of a search dog from 9/11.
Years later, Trakr was chosen through a contest to be cloned because of his accomplishments. Five puppies were born using his DNA, and his handler hoped that they could carry on some of Trakr's search-and-rescue abilities.
Remembering All of the Dogs Who Served
These are only a few of the dogs who helped after the attacks on September 11. Search dogs spent hours climbing over unstable debris alongside their handlers, while other dogs were there simply to provide comfort to first responders and families during an incredibly difficult time.
They didn't know why they had been brought there or why so many people needed their help. They simply did what dogs have done beside people for generations: trusted their handlers and went to work.
As we remember the lives lost on September 11 and honor the first responders who answered the call, the dogs who worked beside them deserve to be remembered, too. Their contribution may have looked different from that of their human partners, but more than 25 years later, their stories are still worth telling.
