Canine heroes of 9/11 set example for new generation

(Reuters) - While there were hundreds of human heroes in the days following the September 11 attacks, there were four-legged heroes too -- the dogs who searched for survivors and bodies in the rubble of buildings and planes.

A decade later, the 9/11 dogs still alive are long retired, but there's a new generation coming up behind them.

Red, a 12 year-old Labrador who searched the rubble of the Pentagon with her handler, is among those retired as an active search dog. Her legs are not as spry as they once were but in her temperament Red still appears to have that same devotion to the search.

Not long after American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, Red was at work. She was 18 months old and only recently certified as a rescue dog, a rookie among more veteran canines.

Red searched the debris pile with an energy that surprised even her handler, Heather Roche. MORE>>