Posted on 08/19/2011 6:22:06 PM PDT by nuconvert
Eleven days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Debra Tosch arrived at Ground Zero with her partner Abby to search for survivors.
“We turned this one corner and there it was: the collapsed towers. It was overwhelming, like, where do you even start?” Tosch recalls.
Abby, a black Labrador trained to lead rescue teams to trapped victims in disaster areas, was more assured. “She knew it was time to search,” says Tosch, the executive director of the Search Dog Foundation.
As one of 13 SDF teams deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the Trade Center attacks, they traveled from the West Coast to New York City on a military transport with the San Diego Task Force. At that point, Abby and Tosch had been a certified rescue team for almost three years, but they had never experienced anything approaching the scope of the World Trade Center devastation.
“As we were going to and from the site, people were calling out ‘can you find my daughter? Can you find my son?’” Tosch says. Her normally cheerful demeanor grows markedly more solemn as she recalls the mission.
Abby also had a unique reaction to the devastation.
“At the site, the dogs definitely picked up on something from the handlers and from the environment that said, ‘this is for real,’” Tosch says. “They were more in-tune and sharper in their obedience and listening than we had ever seen them."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Labrador puppies "Hoey" (L) and "Hatton", named in honor of September 11, 2001 attack victims Patrick Hoey and Lenny Hatton who died in the World Trade Center, are pictured on the grounds of the Pentagon near Washington, June 28, 2011. The dogs are part of the Transportation and Security Administration (TSA)'s Puppy Program where young dogs are raised to be used as future bomb sniffers at air cargo facilities nationwide.
Beautiful dogs!
Link to many more photos at article link above
Amazing pictures at the link. Thanks for posting.
“Retired disabled military dog Rocky dies if not adopted; UPDATE: Rocky is saved!”
http://blog.petsforpatriots.org/retired-disabled-military-dog-rocky/
14 is an excellent life span for a Lab.
I am so glad that Rocky will find a forever home. Thaks for the update.
It is. My brother lost his Lab, age 15, last year
You people need to just get over this 911 thing
Great. Thanks for the update.
Good doggie!
Nice slide show. My husband had to go to New Orleans on business about a month after Katrina. Our travel agent booked him and his colleague into a Hotel on Canal Street. They arrived in a taxi and started unloading lullggage and were met by the National Guard with drawn rifles. It seems that the hotel was not open to the public; it was totally occupied by FEMA, refugees, and Search and Rescue teams.
After some negotiations with the powers that be, they allowed my husband and his friend to stay there because they had confirmed reservations. Meals were served family style and included in the price of the room.
Every night the SAR teams would come back (they were cadaver dog teams by then) after a day in the field and their handlers would bathe and doctor the dogs before falling into bed in preparation for another day. Bright and early, they would pick up a sack lunch and be off before breakfast. My husband was really impressed with their dedication.
The purpose of the trip was to save a small manufacturing company that had no utilities and no work force as a result of the storm. They needed to farm out some of their contracts. We are still doing some of their work.
i’ve watched these videos a number of times:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXLivftY4qo&feature=related
this is a must watch- i remember watching the memorial service for cyrius live when it happened- it was amazing; as they were playing taps for the cyrius the dogs in attendance began to howl:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZR6mFeRK8E&feature=related
OMG ~ I was at work when they carried Sirius’ body out on a stretcher , covered in a flag and I **sobbed* like a huge freakin baby , in front of everyone.
Later, Mom was commissioned to do a portrait of Sirius and flew to NY to present it to Dave Lim, Sirius’ handler.
I also slightly knew Sirius’ breeder and saw her at a few dog shows here and there. He came from lovely show dog lines.
In fact, I have Mom’s portrait of Sirius about 2 feet from me as I type this.
My youngest son, who is 5 says that Siruis is his dog, Holly. She is also a yellow lab and from top show lines.
If you’d like to see the portrait of Sirus, just google either Deb Stonebraker Sirus or Salute to Sirius ( that’s the title of the portrait )
OMG are they precious !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Two of the pups that I have bred are explosive sniffing dogs in NY. I am so proud of them. They are actually dad and son.
I can almost smell the puppy breath from the photo.....yeah, puppy breath is freakin awesome ~!
Gooood girl Abby. You done good. Enjoy your retirement and the couch ~!
What a cutie she is.
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