As the country remembers those lost and forever affected by the 9/11 attacks, a dog breeder in Lapeer County is paying tribute to the canine heroes from that time.
Tall Pine Labradors LLC in Dryden had eight puppies born between Monday night and early Tuesday morning. They decided to name the animals after some of the dogs who worked at Ground Zero.
Tall Pine named the firstborn puppy, Salty after a guide dog who led his owner to safety from the 71st floor of the North Tower. Salty the puppy was born at 7:50 p.m. on Monday night.
Jake’s debut came at 8:43 on September 10. He’s named in honor of a Search and Rescue dog who worked for 17 days at Ground Zero. He later returned home to Utah to train other SAR dog and eventually went on to work as a therapy dog in nursing homes and with burn victims.
Sirius was born at 9:30 p.m. on September 10 and was named after a K-9 officer with the Port Authority Police Department. His handler, Officer Lt. David Lim was hospitalized with injuries after being in the North Tower when it collapsed. Sirius, who was locked in his crate of the South Tower’s basement while Officer Lim went to investigate, didn’t survive. His remains were recovered in the winter of 2002.
Thunder is a male pup who was born at 11:40 p.m. on Monday and was named after a Search and Rescue dog from Washington. Thunder helped search through the rubble of Ground Zero.
The final dog born on September 10 was Trakr who was named in honor of a German Shepherd who partnered with a Canadian police officer and found the last survivor 27 hours after the South Tower came down. In April 2009, five clones of Trackr were born.
Appollo was born at 12:13 a.m. on September 11 and is named in honor of a NYPD K-9 Officer who was the first Search and Rescue dog to arrive at the World Trade Center, just 15 minutes after the towers went down. At one point, his fur caught fire during the search efforts, but his handler put them out, and Appollo got right back to work.
Riley made his arrival at 1:14 a.m. on September 11 and is named after a Golden Retriever who was trained in a special basket to search over canyons. Riley ended up finding the bodies of several firefighters on the scene.
Roselle is the only female from the litter. She was born at 1:26 a.m. on September 11 and is named in honor of a guide down who led her owner down 78 floors in the North Tower and into the entrance of a subway where she brought comfort to another woman blinded by dust and debris.
Anyone with further questions about the litter regarding pedigrees and health guarantees can contact Tall Pine at 810-441-1091.
