Retrieved

by Charlotte Dumas

Immediately following the attacks of 9/11, nearly 100 trained search dogs and their handlers were deployed by FEMA to assist in the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Enlisted from a network of 26 task forces in 18 states around the U.S., the dogs worked around the clock to locate survivors in the rubble, alongside firemen and other teams sorting through the debris. One decade later, Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas succeeded in tracking down 15 of the surviving dogs that took part in these rescue operations, visiting and photographing the dogs at their homes throughout the U.S., where they all still lived with their handlers. Composed at close range in natural light, Dumas' powerful portraits--reproduced here in a thoughtfully designed paperback volume with Japanese binding--offer an intimate view into the everyday lives of these highly specialized working animals, now sharing the vulnerability of old age as they once pursued a common heroic goal.

Genres: Nonfiction, Dogs

48 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2011

Reviews

[Sharon]

A beautiful photo book of the dogs who were part of the 9/11 Search and Rescue. There is a page of explanation at the end, however, no other text. The photographs are beautiful. A wonderful reminder of these unsung heroes.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller]

These photographs and dog's names and descriptions of when they were deployed to the Trade Center made me cry. I love a hero and who doesn't love a good dog story? The author went back after years and looked up these dogs from 9/11. The pictures show old dogs, except for one in the end that shows a number of the dogs on a long down-stay. These unsung heroes, the search and rescue dogs once deployed by FEMA on 9/11 make me want to read more search and rescue stories. I only wished there was more actual writing about these dogs in this book.

[Melinda]

A beautiful book of photos of search and rescue dogs that worked at 9/11. The photographer/author was able to track down some of these dogs and photograph them. She stated that some of the photos of 9/11 that touched her the most, were those that featured the search and rescue dogs working. Enjoyed this book and interested to read more about these dogs who save lives.

[Mehsi]

This would have been more impactful if the names and all the information had been included with each photograph. Now it was mentioned at the end. Plus I would have liked more information about the project, now it was just shortly mentioned, I would have loved interviews and just more everything.
But wonderful photographs, happy to see the dogs all live their best old age.

[Erica Leigh]

Portraits of 15 "elderly" pups who were part of the 9/11 rescue efforts; the pictures were taken a decade after the tragedy and the author stated these were the surviving dogs at that time.

[Stacy Jones]

It's a photo book, but it is a beautiful photo book. If you love Retrievers, admire Search and Rescue dogs, or just can't walk by an old dog without smiling, you need a copy of this book. I break it out every now and then to look at the photos of the remaining brave souls who searched the wreckage at Ground Zero for weeks to bring peace and closure to the families of the victims of that terrorist attack. These dogs deserve a memorial in their honor, this is the closest we've gotten to that so far.

[Helovitz]

DUch a lo9vely book. I really love those dogs