Ten years after 9/11, the dogs are finally having their day. In addition to the memorials and tributes in honor of the victims and the brave work of first responders, are a number of ceremonies and projects aimed at honoring the work of the rescue dogs who helped pull survivors from the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Many of the dogs that worked at the World Trade Center site following the attacks are gone, but those that remain will be getting some special treatment, including a tribute across the water in Jersey City, N.J., and a new book of photographs of the now-elderly pooches. Both are aimed at recognizing the fearless and difficult work of the dogs and their handlers in the wake of the attacks.
Here is some information about the rescue dogs at Ground Zero and their lives in the 10 years since the attacks of 9/11.
* It is estimated that more than 100 rescue dogs and their handlers searched the rubble of the World Trade Center in the days following 9/11.
* Of those dogs, approximately 12 are still alive. Many of them will attend a ceremony at Liberty State Park in Jersey City on Sunday. The dogs will walk in a processional down a row lined on both sides with current rescue dogs and their handlers.
* The ceremony, which is invitation-only, has been organized by a foundation called "Tails of Hope," which also plans to raise funds for search and rescue canine memorial gardens near each of the three sites of the 9/11 attacks. In addition, the group is working on a national registry of all the dogs and their handlers that worked at the sites.
* The 12 surviving dogs are featured in a book of photographs to be published in time for the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. The book is called "Retrieved." The dogs were photographed by Dutch artist Charlotte Dumas.
* When Dumas originally began to approach the handlers about photographing their dogs last year, there were 15 still alive. Three died before the book was finished.
* Another book, entitled "Dog Heroes of September 11th," also features search and rescue dogs who were at each of the sites after 9/11. The book was due to be released in time for the 10-year anniversary as well.
* Cynthia Otto, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, has been studying the long-term health effects that working at the sites had on the rescue dogs.
* All of the surviving search and rescue dogs are long retired from active duty, but many of them are still tied to the work in other ways.
* Kaiser, one of four dogs assisting the FEMA team from Indiana at ground zero in the days after 9/11, is now a companion animal but will fly to New York for memorial ceremonies on Saturday. He will then return to Indiana to serve as grand marshal at Carmel's Dog Day Afternoon in honor of the 10-year anniversary of the attacks on Sunday.
* Bretagne was new to her job when 9/11 happened. She and her handler, Denise Corliss, were at ground zero shortly after the attacks. Corliss told a reporter Thursday that Bretagne still stands at the ready whenever she puts on her uniform.
* A cement statue stands in Lindehurst, N.Y., of Hansen, a German shepherd that worked the World Trade Center site for 150 days with his handler, Steve Smaldon.
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