K9 for Kids: Tails at Ground Zero

The dogged determination of canines in the days and months after 9/11 cannot be understated. Hundreds of search and rescue dogs mobilized from across the country, working 12-hour shifts to search for survivors and recover victims. Friendly canines trained in therapy and disaster relief provided comfort to families experiencing unspeakable loss and rescue and recovery workers facing indescribable horrors.

Just days after 9/11, Frank Shane, a certified trauma responder and executive director of K-9 Disaster Relief, drove to Ground Zero with his therapy dog Nikie. He did not have a plan or safety protocols in place, but he knew they had a critical job to do. Immediately, Nikie’s furry face had a calming presence on the firefighters, police officers and rescue workers they encountered. Police officers gave Nikie their Gore-Tex gloves to use as booties to protect his sensitive paws from the still-smoldering ground. A firefighter knelt down to embrace Nikie and confided that his brother, killed on 9/11, had the same color hair as Nikie’s fur. Only later did Shane realize that “brother” was a term used for firefighters in the same company. Nikie became everyone’s buddy. For nine months, he provided comfort to many workers on the 16-acre site as they took brief breaks from their tireless work.

After Nikie died in August 2004, Shane donated Nikie’s vest, bandana, booties, photograph and pin-encrusted lanyard with credentials, now all on display in the Museum’s Historical Exhibition.

More than 13 years after 9/11, most of these canines are no longer with us, but K9 for Kids, a monthly program at the 9/11 Memorial Museum, presents visitors with an opportunity to learn about them and their service. On the first Saturday of each month at 3 p.m., Shane, accompanied by Nikie’s grandson, Chance — a four-year-old cream retriever trained in disaster relief — shares stories with visitors as part of the K9 for Kids program in the Museum’s Education Center. K9 for Kids is for visitors of all ages and features rare photographs of Nikie at Ground Zero, along with hands-on art activities. On a recent Saturday, children designed pins similar to those given to Nikie by rescue and recovery workers.

Shane brings a rare perspective of someone who spent time at Ground Zero. Chance, whose first deployment was to Newtown, Connecticut, offers visitors, and especially children, a measure of comfort and connection as they learn about 9/11.

By Noaa Stoler, 9/11 Memorial Museum Youth and Family Programs Coordinator