09/11/2026
This post highlights some of the amazing dogs at ground zero. Never forget. 🤍
September 11, 2001 was a day that can never be forgotten. A day that struck a devastating blow to our country and forever changed the lives of so many. Precious lives were lost that day, and the pain of that loss continued to ripple through families, communities, and our nation for years to come.
But through one of the darkest moments in our history, we also witnessed some of the brightest examples of humanity. We learned what true heroes looked like.
Men and women who ran toward the danger when every instinct told them to run away. First responders, firefighters, police officers, military members, volunteers, and ordinary Americans who selflessly put the lives of others before their own.
And beside many of them were heroes on four legs…search and rescue dogs who tirelessly worked through the devastation, searching for those who were still missing and offering comfort when it was needed most.
Today, we remember them.
We remember the innocent lives that were taken. We remember the families who were forever changed. We remember the heroes who gave everything they had trying to save someone else.
And we remember the way America came together…setting aside differences without a second thought to help a fellow American.
Today, we’d like to tell you about some of the incredible dogs that played pivotal roles in 9/11.
Salty the Lab was a blind seeing eye dog for his owner. His owner attempted to save him by telling him to leave without him. Instead, Salty led his owner down 70 floors to save his life.
Roselle was also a Lab that was a seeing eye dog who led not only her owner, but 30 other people out of the north tower saving their lives.
Apollo, a German Shepherd, was the first search and rescue dog to arrive at the towers. He was almost killed by the fires.
Thunder and Ricky were a two dog search team. Rocky, a Rat Terrier, was the smallest dog on scene. He was fearless and would squeeze into small places searching for people. Ricky would point and Thunder, a Golden Retriever, would confirm by lying down that there were bodies.
Coby and Guinness were both Labs who searched tirelessly for bodies for 12 hour shifts 11 days in a row.
Riley, a Golden Retriever was the dog in one of the most iconic photos of rescue dogs at ground zero. She was tasked with finding survivors, but mostly only found bodies. She quickly became depressed. Despite this, she also comforted many families during one of the worst days if not the worst of their lives.
Sirius, a Labrador, was an explosive detection dog for the police. Sirius and his handler, Lt. Lim were in a police office below the south tower when flight 11 hit the north tower. Lt. Lim kenneled Sirius and went to investigate. Lt. Lim was in the north tower when it collapsed. Hours later, he was recovered and taken to a hospital after he attempted to find Sirius. The remains of Sirius were recovered on 21 January 2002 with a Police Honor Guard present. He was the only dog to die when the towers collapsed.
Trakr, a German Shepherd, found the last survivor of 9/11 who has been trapped for 26 hours. He worked tirelessly until September 14th after he collapsed from smoke inhalation.
Jake, a Labrador, was a search and rescue dog who worked for 17 days at ground zero. He went on to save more lives after hurricane Katrina.
Bretagne, a Golden Retriever, spent 10 grueling days searching the rubble for survivors and bodies. Beyond her search work, she comforted exhausted first responders at the site.
Many of these dogs became severely depressed as they searched for survivors only to mostly find bodies. Firefighters and handlers had to hide in debris to give the dogs “motivational finds”. There were so many more incredible dogs who were deployed to ground zero.
September 11 is a reminder of the lives we lost, the heroes we will never forget, and the compassion and unity that rose from unimaginable tragedy.
We remember. We honor. We will never forget.
