K-9 Courage
K-9 Courage, in the Museum’s South Tower Gallery, honored the hundreds of dogs that participated in the response to the 9/11 attacks.
About the Exhibition
K-9 Courage honored the hundreds of dogs that participated in the response to the 9/11 attacks. With dedication and specialized expertise, these four-legged responders made a difference with their handlers during the rescue and recovery efforts—and made a lasting impression on people around the world.
After September 11, 2001, K-9 teams searched the wreckage of the crash sites for survivors and victims, and they comforted responders and the families of victims. When images of the dogs at work appeared in news coverage, they brightened 9/11’s dark aftermath.
Objects on View
Ten years after the attacks, photographer Charlotte Dumas remained curious about the fate of the 9/11 dogs. She located 15 of them and traveled around the United States to make portraits of the dogs in their retirement at home.
This exhibition combined photographs of the dogs during their service with Dumas’s portraits of them later in life. It also included artifacts that tell stories of working dogs and disaster response veterinary teams.
Almost two decades after dogs responded to the 9/11 attacks, and one decade after Charlotte Dumas revisited some of them in her project, K-9 Courage paid tribute to the canine responders that were ready when the country needed them.