“Get ready to love [dogs] even more. A book full of courage, dedication, hope and faith—not just in mankind, but in mankind’s best friend.” —Denis Leary Dog Heroes of September 11th: A Tribute to America’s Search and Rescue Dogs, now in its Tenth Anniversary second edition, is the first and only major publication to salute the canines that served our nation in the recovery missions following the terrorists’ strikes on America. A testament to man’s best friend and his most critical role in American history, this special book pays tribute to seventy-nine canine heroes and their handlers, retelling their heart-stirring stories, and photographically capturing many defining moments of the days that followed September 11, 2001. Award-winning author Nona Kilgore Bauer interviewed each of the handlers who participated in the recovery efforts at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, Shanksville, Penn., and the Fresh Kills landfill, and lovingly retells their stories of heroism and bravery. Recently updated and expanded with over one hundred new pages and more than one hundred fifty new full-color photographs, this book also includes chapters on military working dogs in Iraq and Afghanistan, the therapy dogs who worked at Ground Zero, the SDF’s new National Training Center, and post-9/11 rescue missions at home and abroad. A special section, written by selected 9/11 handlers, pays tributes to their canine partners who passed away after their recovery missions. This book supports the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) in its mission to produce certified search and rescue teams to protect our whole nation, and a portion of the proceeds of Dog Heroes of September 11th benefit the SDF. “This book will touch the soul; highly recommended.” —Library Journal

Omar Rivera, an office worker who is blind, and his guide dog, Salty, were on the 71st story of the World Trade Center’s North Tower on the morning of September 11, 2001 when terrorists hijacked two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers. Omar’s coworkers raced to the stairway to escape the burning building. With chaos all around, Omar told his dog to guide him down the stairs. Would Salty be able to lead his owner to safety? In this book, young readers will meet the brave dogs that helped people during and after the deadly terrorist attack. From guide dogs that calmly led their owners to safety, to the 300 search-and-rescue dogs that used their powerful sense of smell to try to find survivors in the rubble, these incredible animals were part of the largest canine rescue operation in U.S. history. With true stories and full-color photographs of dogs working at Ground Zero, this book is sure to appeal to dog lovers everywhere.

An award-winning journalist takes a look at extraordinary canines, presenting real stories from the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, along with historical and scientific facts and dramatic photos in color and b&w.

Lola was a buckshot-riddled stray, lost on a Memphis highway. Cody was rejected from seven different homes. Ace had been sprayed with mace and left for dead on a train track. They were deemed unadoptable. Untrainable. Unsalvageable. These would become the same dogs America relied on when its worst disasters hit. In 1995, Wilma Melville volunteered as a canine search-and-rescue (SAR) handler with her Black Labrador Murphy in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. At the time, there were only fifteen FEMA certified SAR dogs in the United States. Believing in the value of these remarkable animals to help save lives, Wilma knew many more were needed in the event of future major disasters. She made a vow to help 168 dogs receive search-and-rescue training in her lifetime—one for every Oklahoma City victim. Wilma singlehandedly established the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) to meet this challenge. The first canine candidates—Ana, Dusty, and Harley—were a trio of golden retrievers with behavioral problems so severe the dogs were considered irredeemable and unadoptable. But with patience, discipline, and love applied during training, they proved to have the ability, agility, and stamina to graduate as SARs. Paired with a trio of firefighters, they were among the first responders searching the ruins of the World Trade Center following 9/11—setting the standard for the more than 168 of the SDF’s search-and-rescue dogs that followed. Beautiful and heart-wrenching, Hero Dogs is the story of one woman’s dream brought to fruition by dedicated volunteers and firefighters—and the bonds they forged with the incredible rescued-turned-rescuer dogs to create one of America’s most vital resources in disaster response.

Explains the history of the K-9 unit and the training methods used to transform an ordinary dog into a canine hero.

Pictured here ten years after the September 11, 2001 attacks are the fifteen surviving dogs that took part in rescue operations at the World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Signed copy by artist Jon Van Zyle and dog sled musher Jona Stokes.

This is the true story of "Sirius," the Port Authority police patrol dog who died at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Told by "Sirius" in his own words, this heart-warming story describes the friendship and courage shared by "Sirius" and his police officer partner David, who survived the 9/11 attacks. A personal letter from David to the reader is included in this book. "Sirius, The Hero Dog of 9/11" is not only the inspiring story of a dog and his police officer partner. It is also the true story, for readers young and old, of tragedy, triumph and courage on the darkest day in America's history.