Today, the 11th anniversary of 9/11, there is a new defense in preventing the catastrophic loss of life that occurs in terrorist attacks and other tragedies including natural disasters. This defense is a bit different. It has four legs, a wagging tail, and a love of the job required.
Today, the Penn Vet Working Dog Center officially opens. It was established in 2007 as a part of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine under the direction of Dr. Cynthia Otto. Dr. Otto is a veterinarian and Professor of Critical Care at the School of Veterinary Medicine. She was also a member of the Pennsylvania Urban Search and Rescue Task Force. She has also been active in disaster relief as a member of the Veterinary Medical Assistance Team. Her experience in working with rescue dogs involved with the 9/11 tragedy led to her founding the center.
What is the purpose of the Working Dog Center? One thing is it will be a resource that can unite information from canine search and rescue centers worldwide. The center will also work with optimizing breeding and training of dogs specifically for their required jobs. One of the most important things the center will be dedicated to is the maximizing of health and wellbeing of working dogs. So many dogs were seriously ill after 9/11 and we didn’t know enough of how to deal with the risks of being at ground zero.
Working dogs are tasked with many different jobs, such as search and rescue, finding people trapped in rubble, drug sniffing, bomb work (including looking for IED’s), looking for missing children, and tracking work. There was a dog, Cairo, who even participated in the Osama Bin Laden mission.
The Working Dog Center, with Dr. Otto and her team of researchers and trainers will help dogs to work more effectively and safely. It will help to ensure that the dogs that are tasked to help us in these vital tasks can do so with maximum health and happiness.
If you wish for more information on the Working Dog Center, or wish to make a donation, please go to https://www.vet.upenn.edu/Research/ResearchCenters/PennVetWorkingDogCenter/tabid/2409/Default.aspx
Thanks go out to Fresh Air on National Public Radio for information on the opening of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center