The 10th Anniversary Recognition Ceremony honoring all K9 teams who served during 9/11 was beautiful, stately, and patriotic. This ceremony represents a critical historic moment in time. Our collective efforts are bringing important issues, including working dog shortages, breed discrimination and our civilian and military canine service partners’ needs, to the attention of decision makers and the public.

It is rewarding to know that our joint goals to raise the visibility of and to support the working dog field with the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, Doberman Pinscher Club of America-led Convention on Cooperation, proposed White House Conference agenda and to support and benefit from the input of Federal homeland security and law enforcement entities, including the Department of Homeland Security, are all moving forward, thanks to the tremendous support from sponsors, individual donors, and new and veteran volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes.

Special recognition with heartfelt thanks goes to those that helped make the 10th Anniversary Recognition Ceremony such a successful event: The Doberman Pinscher Club of America, United Doberman Club, AKC-CAR, Parent and Chapter Clubs, United States military, Debbie Stonebraker, Lt. Lim and Port Authority Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Rotary Club of Nanuet, NY, and Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue Group.

The eyes of the world have now turned to these selfless canine teams, dedicated veterinarians, and Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams. But in order to continue the advancements achieved by this recognition, we must work to keep these deserving working dog teams in the forefront of people’s minds. It is contingent on all of us who believe in bettering the lives of the working dogs and their partners and elevating the human/animal bond to ensure that their service is not forgotten and to continue supporting them. We look forward to discovering what our future combined efforts can do for them. Your assistance in the coming weeks will be invaluable.

We invite you to view the 9/11 Recognition Ceremony photo galleries and meet the photographers, sponsors, donors, and volunteers and to receive the latest news and activities. Feel free to download the photos for non-commercial use. Requests for commercial use of photos should be addressed to Nancy Katz, Photography Chair, at nkatz@zazacreative.com.

Special thanks also go to artist Debbie Stonebraker for allowing us to use her beautiful and patriotic official portrait of Sirius to create the Sirius Courage Award.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the privilege of honoring the 9/11 teams and for your partnership.