Not a long missive on the politics or other retrospectives on the impacts and changes since 9-11. Just a simple diary from me to acknowledge the day and take a moment to recognize the often unsung heroes ... working simply for a toy.
We have seen them...in the news, in TV shows, and maybe somewhere on the interwebs.
They are the K9 Search & Rescue (SAR) dogs.
There are a variety of search and rescue operations, from urban search and rescue to wilderness search and rescue to even human remains detection (HRD) search dogs. But one thing they all have in common is a special drive that is above and beyond the average dog that makes them a successful search dog working in conditions that are generally above and beyond, in and of themselves.
I've mentioned in other comments here and there that my sister is an LA City Firefighter and a certified FEMA K9 Search & Rescue Handler. She's passionate about this work and has been trying hard to help advance the skills and knowledge within the K9 handlers as well as public awareness of pet safety and what SAR work is all about with her work on 3Barks. It takes a lot of personal time, training effort - for both dogs and handlers - and their own money for these volunteer K9 teams to train and deploy.
The most powerful way to illustrate this is to show people what it's all about, so Margaret has been learning what it takes to create a video and has been working hard on a documentary series with her friend, Cameron Barrett, to introduce kids and the general public to what it takes to be a successful SAR dog. Their first episode just make it to NBC LA as part of the retrospection of 9-11 called 10 Years Later: Ground Zero Search Dogs.
I invite and encourage you to watch this first episode...and dare you not to either tear up or at least get a lump in your throat...along with exclaiming a couple of 'awwwwws' while you watch and meet the next generation of search dogs in training - Molly, Parker, Raven, Buddy, Glory, Copper, Harley - and root for their success!
Vimeo doesn't embed on DKos, so clicking the picture opens the full screen video. The links below the picture will take to to the Vimeo channel.
Before the Barks - Episode 1 - 9/11 Search Dogs from David & Cameron Barrett on Vimeo.
This is Margaret, with her own SAR dog Bo (yellow) and Rose (black) her TV star HRD partner on long term loan. She was recently visiting me for my birthday and we needed a fun 'yacht dog' picture...not my yacht, but thanks OCSC Sailing. :)
Sheila McKee's dog training business, Mountain View Dog Training, is where you can see a gallery of all the SAR dogs they've trained! Look closely and you'll see Sundown's Perfect Ten and Duckpond's Black Rose. ;) And thanks to noweasels for the reminder of the new book by Charlotte Dumas called "Retrieved" that features portraits of the dogs of 9/11...including Sheila's dog Guinness.
And since September is National Preparedness Month, I will help Margaret, my own nonprofit organization working to build disaster resilient communities, and many, many other organizations - both public and nonprofit - encouraging you prepare yourself in the ways appropriate to where you live and work. We've seen many disasters this year, it's ALWAYS time to be Ready!
For those in the Los Angeles area, in particular, below are some examples of some of the public information work Margaret does as part of the nonprofit organization focusing on public safety and emergency preparation, MySafe:LA. This is and 3Barks Facebook page (become a friend!) are where to tune into for future episodes.
Pictures of Margaret and Bo in a live demonstration for school kids with MySafe:LA.
And this video kind of started the education filming showing you how search dogs are trained and what they do.
I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge and honor all of our dogs and other animals who train, work ...and die... in dangerous service. This includes War Dogs, Police K9 Dogs, Military Dolphins, and so many more.
UPDATE: Poll added for your favorite puppy!! :)