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We remember September 11, 2001
WJK9SR search dog/handler teams were part of courageous workers who responded to the call on that ill-fated day, September 11, 2001. Our search dog/handler teams joined the workers on Staten Island to search for DNA material which would assist in the identification of the victims.
 This picture is of 'the Hill' as it became known. It was where all the material from the Towers was brought to be searched for DNA material and personal effects that might help to identify victims. The area covered by the debris was about a 1/4 mile square when we first arrived 4 days after the disaster. It continued to grow in front of our eyes as tractor trailer after tractor trailer dumped their loads.
 This picture is a close up shot of 'the Hill'. These cranes are about half the size of the one in the first picture. The earth moving equipment was so huge that the drivers couldn't see the searchers working the debris around them. The cacophony of noise was constant and almost deafening. Each search dog/handler team was assigned a support person. Part of that support person's job was to watch for approaching equipment and get the dog and handler out of harm's way.
 The photo above shows the K-9 tent on the fringe of the pile. One of our handlers, Mike O'Neil, is in front of the tent with his yellow lab, Chia. The debris in the foreground is the remains of a bucket load that a front end loader had dumped. The format followed by all teams was that, after a load was dumped, a team of 10 or more workers with rakes and a dog/handler/support team converged on the load. The workers sorted through the grit and twisted metal, tossing large chunks to the perimeter while the dog/handler team worked around them searching for DNA material that human eyes could not recognize. Everyone raking, sorting and searching was covered in hazmat suits - except the dogs.
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