Search and Rescue Dog Memorial; West Orange, NJ, USA
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| The Search and Rescue Dog Memorial in West Orange New Jersey pays tribute to the dogs who found survivors after the attack on the World Trade Center. Photo Credit: NJ.com |
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| Bretagne and handler Denise Corlis. Photo Credit BARk |
On this September 11th I wanted to briefly post about one of the memorials dedicated to the rescuers who risked their lives to save the survivors of that horrible event. I’m not going to rehash the events of the terrorist attack on New York and Washington DC that occurred 17 years ago. However, anyone who watched the response live or has spent any time watching documentaries and other video of it knows that an indispensable part of the search and rescue (SAR) response was dogs. About 350 SAR dogs from New York, New Jersey, and eventually the rest of the country came to the towers to help locate survivors and bodies. The dogs and their handlers searched 16 acres of dangerous wreckage. It’s impossible to say how many lives were saved by the dogs, but certainly the death toll would have been higher without them. These dogs were important not only to the rescue efforts but also to the recovery of bodies that brought closure to so many families and helped the country determine exactly what the human cost of the attack had been. Some dogs also helped survivors deal with the difficult and complex emotions of living through the attack. All of these dogs suffered from health problems similar to the human first responders of that day. The last surviving SAR dog Bretagne died on June 16, 2016.
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| A SAR dog and handlers search the wreckage. Photo credit: BARk |
This event is still a fresh wound in the US and we’re still figuring out exactly how to commemorate it and memorialize the victims. A memorial at the site of the towers opened in 2011 and a museum on the site opened in 2014. Other memorials have opened around the country as well. One at the Essex County Eagle Rock September 11th Memorial in West Orange New Jersey houses a statue that's relevant to this blog. The Essex County memorial sits across the river from Lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center towers once stood and it houses memorials to those lost on that day. The memorial park opened on the sight where many people in New Jersey gathered to watch the events unfold across the river.
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| The statue's unveiling. Photo Credit NJ.com |
Its newest memorial is dedicated to the search and rescue dogs from the aftermath of the attack. The 5,000 pound bronze statue stands on a girder which sits on a slab of granite. The dog appears to watch the site across the river where the towers fell. The statue is a life-sized golden retriever, just like Bretagne and many if the SAR dogs. Artist, Jay Warren designed and crafted the memorial. It was dedicated on August 17, 2016 in the presence of New Jersey officials and representatives of the SAR community.
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| The statue appears to look to Lower Manhattan. Photo Credit: NJ.com |
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| Dogs and handlers at the memorial's dedication. Photo Credit: NJ.com |
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| The memorial includes a girder and granite base representing the destroyed towers. Photo Credit: NJ.com |
Sources:
https://thebark.com/content/nj-pays-tribute-911-search-and-rescue-dogs
https://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/08/911_rescue_dogs_get_their_day.html
https://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/09/lt_gov_to_911_families_nj_will_keep_memories_of_vi.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/08/nyregion/bretagne-believed-to-be-the-last-remaining-9-11-search-dog-dies-at-16.html
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