Hero Dogs Of 9/11 - Where Are They Now?
Photographs by Charlotte Dumas of privately owned dogs who were mobilized, with their owners, to search for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. They are all now retired.
Moxie
Moxie, age 13, Winthrop, Mass. She arrived on the scene of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 and began working the next morning. Although Moxie is trained to find survivors, she identified six bodies and various body parts during the eight days she was there. Retired at age 7, she spends time hunting and on the waterfront.
Orion
Orion, age 13, Vacaville, Calif. He worked at the WTC for five days after the attacks. He later took part in searches for missing hikers in the High Sierras. His owner says that Orion loved the work and that his purpose in living was doing search and rescue work.
Guinness
Guinness, age 14, Highland, Calif. He worked at the World Trade Center site for 10 days. Guinness also searched for survivors of Katrina and other catastrophic hurricanes. Guinness’s owner says, ‘‘We keep the training fun for the dogs; it’s like a game for them.’’
Red
Red, age 11, Annapolis, Md. Red is trained as a ‘live’ find as well as a ‘cadavar’ dog. She arrived at the Pentagon after the attacks and worked for 11 days, finding remains for DNA identification. She retired in July. Her owner says, ‘‘Red wants to work, but her body just can’t do it anymore.’’
Bailey
Bailey, age 14, Thompson Station, Tenn. Bailey arrived at the Pentagon following the attacks. She was also active in wilderness searches in her home state. Her owner says: ‘‘Even today, if I say we’re going to search, she’ll get all excited. She still perks up.’’
Tara
Tara, age 16, Ipswich, Mass. She arrived at the World Trade Center the day after the attacks. At that time, her owner says, ‘‘there was a lot of hope that people would be found alive.’’ She had a nine-year career in which she located the victim of a crane collapse and helped out in many wilderness searches. She died earlier this year, RIP Tara.
Bretagne
Bretagne, age 12, Cypress, Tex. She worked ground zero for 10 days; it was her first deployment. Subsequently, her seven years of active duty included searching for survivors in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Based on a story by the nytimes
