Never Forget: 11 of the Search and Rescue Dogs of 9-11

For Americans, September 11, 2002 is a day we will never forget. Now known as Patriots Day, for most of us the images were shocking, surreal, and terrifying. Many of us across the nation lost loved ones or friends.

But out of that tragedy came great inspiration, as heroes combed the rubble of the World Trade Center and Pentagon searching anxious for survivors, or to give closure to the loved ones clinging to hope.

Among those heroes was possibly the largest deployment ever of Search and Rescue Dogs, and we at BestLife4Pets are thankful to share the stories of these four legged heroes who worked tirelessly among the human heroes.

These heroes of many different breeds and skills came from around the country and even from our neighbor Canada to help search for victims. Here are some of the heroic 9-11 search and rescue dogs

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1. Trakr

Never forgot Trakr, a German shepherd from Canada, with his handler Canadian Police Officer James Symington Trakr discovered the last living survivor, Genelle Guzman, buried under the collapsed tower for 27 hours. Heartbreakingly, with all the lives lost, only 20 people were ever pulled alive from the rubble and Genelle was the last.

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2. Willow

Never Forget Willow, a 5-year-old Labrador Retriever. Willow and her handler, Bobbie Snyder, of Williamstown, New Jersey, worked in 12 hour shifts in the days and weeks after 9/11 in the wreckage of the World Trade Center.

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3. Ricky

Never forget Ricky, a 17-inch-tall rat terrier from Seattle, and his firefighter handler, Janet Linker, who was the smallest search and rescue dog at Ground Zero. While rat terriers aren’t the usual Search and Rescue dog breed, Ricky's small size helped him to squeeze into tight spaces. He was able to reach places that larger SAR dogs couldn’t, like buckled subway tunnels and stairwells. They worked with another search and rescue team, Kent Olson and Thunder, a five-year-old Golden Retriever. Thunder and Ricky found multiple victims and also personal items, such as jewelry, that were given to victims’ families.

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4. Sage

Never forget Sage, a 2-year-old Border Collie, who with her handler, Diane Whetsel searched at the Pentagon after the 9/11 attacks. Sage found the body of the person who crashed American Flight 77 into the Pentagon.

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5. Riley

Never forget Riley, a 4-year-old golden retriever, and his handler Chris Selridge, a firefighter in Johnstown, PA who searched deep into the rubble and helped find the bodies of several firefighters.The iconic photo of Riley hanging from a cable in a basket over a 60-foot-deep canyon to search the remains of the North Tower of the World Trade Center was seen around the world.

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6. Bretagne

Never forget Bretagne (pronounced Brittany), a golden retriever who was then 2 years old, arrived the week after the attacks with her handler, Capt. Denise Corliss of the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department. They spent ten 12 hour days searching for survivors. Bretagne also was a great emotional support to the other emergency responders at Ground Zero.

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7. Charlie

Never Forget Charlie, and his handler Police Officer Suzanne McCrosson As a patrol dog, Charlie was trained to smell human scents. When the attack happened, he was quickly trained on Search and Rescue to help at Ground Zero. Charlie was fearless and would scale 20-foot drops to search the rubble.

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8. Apollo

Never forget Apollo the German Shepherd, who worked with the first New York Police Department K-9 Urban Search and Rescue Team. Apollo and his handler, Pete Davis, were at the South Tower just 15 minutes after it collapsed, making them the first search-and-rescue dog team on site after the attacks.They spent almost 18 hours a day searching for survivors. Apollo almost gave the ultimate sacrifice from flames and falling debris, but thankfully he was soaking wet from falling in a pool of water and was not hit by the falling flames and debris. He went right back to work after his handler brushed some debris off of him. Apollo the hero dog continued to work diligently until he showed signs of extreme exhaustion and required treatment.

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9. Hansen

Never forget Hansen, a then 7-year-old Belgian Shepherd dog, and his handler, retired NYPD officer and then-chief of the Lindenhurst Fire Department, Steve Smaldon. They worked together for many days searching for victims. One day they climbed down a 100 foot hole and found the remains of two NYPD officers, Officer John William Perry and Sgt. Michael Curtin. Hansen and Steve were at ground zero searching for victims for 150 days after the attack.

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10. Nikie

Never forget Nikie, a therapy dog, and Frank Shane, a certified trauma responder, were there just to offer comfort to exhausted rescue workers. This tragedy with so few survivors, was beyond what even these heroes had ever experienced. Nikie gave them the much-needed emotional support during the darkest hours. Nikie was a reminder of hope, resilience, and the unconditional love animals provide.

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11. Kaiser

Never forget Kaiser the certified FEMA Search and Rescue German Shepherd and his handler, Tony Zintsmaster. They, like many of the other teams, worked at Ground Zero for 10 days working 12 hour shifts searching the rubble. Kaiser was known for being very sweet and loving, and when not actively searching was a great comfort to the firefighters and other rescue workers.

​ When the search teams arrived, they expected to find and rescue hundreds of people in the collapsed towers of the World Trade Center. Only 20 living survivors were found. This made the hours, days, and weeks for the search teams not only physically exhausting, but unimaginably emotionally exhausting too. These dogs not only helped in search and rescue efforts, but also became emotional support to the human heroes during those difficult days. We must never forget the sacrifice and patriotism this horrific terrorist attack inspired in our human and four legged heroes.