Ethan's Rescue Pet Project

1/4 Jenner and Merlyn were two SAR dogs at Ground Zero. Jenner was a black lab who worked at the site along with her trainer Ann Wichmann. Merlyn, handled by Matt Clausen, was also on site. Why is this special? Jenner was two year old Merlyn’s dad.

3/4 briefly and then returned. Wichmann urged responders to search the spot where she disappeared, a firefighters remains was found. Jenner passed away at age 12.

1/4 Jenner and Merlyn were two SAR dogs at Ground Zero. Jenner was a black lab who worked at the site along with her trainer Ann Wichmann. Merlyn, handled by Matt Clausen, was also on site. Why is this special? Jenner was two year old Merlyn’s dad.

1/2 Hansen was a 7 year old Belgian Sheepdog who worked alongside his handle, Lindenhurst Fire Chief Steve Smaldon for an astonishing 150 days. He found many people, including the bodies of two NYPD officers,

1/3 Even the dogs were impacted by what they saw. One such dog was Worf. Worf was a 12 year old German Shepherd who deployed to the scene and found the remains of two firefighters on his first day. Worf was impacted by what he saw. He stopped eating, he shut down. His fur even began falling out.

2/3 As a result of this, his handler Mike Owens decided to retire him from SAR work. Upon Worf’s return to his hometown, the community set to work helping him heal from his trauma. The entire community of Monroe, Oh would take turns petting and comforting Worf.

1/4 Not every dog searched for people in the rubble, some dogs searched for ways to help those left behind. One such dog was Nikie. Nikie was a trained therapy dog, and following 9/11 his services were desperately needed. Nikie reported to the Family Assistance Center along with her handler

3/4 whom her husband would play fetch with in their backyard. Her husband who was now missing at Ground Zero. Shane was able to discover that the woman’s husband had been the family’s sole breadwinner, and help her connect to services. Nikie also visited with first responders at Ground Zero.

1/4 Not every dog searched for people in the rubble, some dogs searched for ways to help those left behind. One such dog was Nikie. Nikie was a trained therapy dog, and following 9/11 his services were desperately needed. Nikie reported to the Family Assistance Center along with her handler

1/3 Ricky the rat terrier was the smallest dog to deploy to Ground Zero. He was 17” tall and weighed just 18 pounds but he was fearless! And his small size was a huge asset. Ricky was able to travel through small areas where other dogs or people couldn’t fit.

2/3 Ricky came from Washington state along with his handler, Janet Linker. He worked for ten days straight. Ricky retired from SAR work about a year after 9/11. He retired to the quiet country life where he lived for years as a family pet until he was attacked by a coyote.

1/3 Sage was two when she deployed to the Pentagon with her handler Diane Whetsel. While there, she discovered many people, including one of the bodies of the terrorists who hijacked the plane. She spent many years as a SAR dog, by the time she retired she had traveled to

2/3 seven countries to assist in recovery efforts. Sage was awarded the ACE Award for Excellence in Canine Search and Rescue in 2009 and was the American Humane Association 2011 Hero Dog.

1/3 Today we remember Cara the skydiving camera dog. Cara deployed as part of Florida Task Force Two along with her handler Mike Forsythe. For days searchers tried to find a way to deploy cameras into the rubble. Forsythe feared that a traditional camera harness could result in injury to Cara if she

2/3 become snagged or entangled in the rubble. Instead, someone came up with the idea to use Velcro on the harness so Cara would be able to get free if she got tangled. Forsythe and Cara descended into the rubble with her new harness. Once Forsythe couldn’t fit any further, Cara took over

1/3 Trakr was retired when he deployed to Ground Zero on 9/11. The Canadian dog had already had a distinguished career as a K9, having found over 1 million dollars worth of contraband prior to his retirement in May 2001. But, as they drove 15 hours to offer to help,

2/3 neither Trakr or his handler officer James Symington knew that the value of his previous finds would pale in comparison to the worth of what they would find in NY. Trakr was the dog who found the last survivor, Genelle Guzman-McMillan, at Ground Zero.

1/4 Today, it is especially important to remember Sirius. Sirius was a NY Port Authority K9 which deployed to the scene on that early Tuesday morning. Sirius was the only K9 killed on that day, being caught in the falling rubble. His partner Lt David Lim

3/4 Sirius was given full police honors as his body was removed from the site. He was draped with a flag, engines were silenced as the entire scene went silent as all personnel on sight saluted the fallen hero.

1/4 Today, it is especially important to remember Sirius. Sirius was a NY Port Authority K9 which deployed to the scene on that early Tuesday morning. Sirius was the only K9 killed on that day, being caught in the falling rubble. His partner Lt David Lim

1/3 Remember them - Bretagne was two years old when the call came for teams to deploy as part of Texas Task Force 1. She worked hard searching the rubble, along with over 300 other SAR dogs and their handlers. She also deployed to other disaster sites through the

2/3 years along with her handler, Fire Captain Denise Corliss, including Hurricane Katrina. Even after she retired from SAR work she didn’t stop, she become a community volunteer even helping encourage kids to read (I had a service dog named Cooper that helped me gain confidence

1/3 Remember them - Apollo, first on the scene. On 9/11/01, Apollo was scheduled to receive an ACE Award for Exellence. Instead, this NYPD K9 deployed to Ground Zero just as the towers fell. Apollo, fell into a hole just as the collapse happened, and his partner

2/3 Officer Peter Davis says he came running out literally on fire. That didn’t stop this dedicated hero. Once the embers were brushed off his fur he went right back to searching. Apollo refused to leave the sight. He had to be pulled from the rubble,

Remember them- Abby, a black Labrador who was trained by the National Search Dog Foundation (SDF). Her handler was named Debra Tosch. She was born in the bedroom of the founder of SDF in October 1997.