I adore K-9 dogs, adore them, the ones that are specially-trained to work with cops and rescue units. And here’s a great opportunity for the whole family to learn all about them and bark out your thanks.

An alert colleague fowarded this e-mail to me about event at the Tribute WTC Visitor Center in Manhattan…

On Sunday, February 8, 2009, from 2:00pm – 4:00pm, as a prelude to the Westminster Dog Show, the Tribute WTC Visitor Center at 120 Liberty Street invites families to meet, greet and celebrate some of New York’s working dogs.

After the attacks on the World Trade Center, search and rescue dogs and therapy dogs were both vital components of the recovery story. The Tribute WTC Visitor Center is honored to welcome NYPD K-9 units of both dogs and their human partners for a free, family friendly public program. Demonstrations of how these dogs do their work will be offered and handlers will share their stories of how dogs helped in the World Trade Center search and rescue in the aftermath of the attacks. Photographs of the dogs at work during the aftermath of 9/11 will accompany the program.

Join Scott Ryan of the NYPD K-9 Unit and his dog Taz, who had just finished his training and was sent to Ground Zero as his first work assignment. He worked at the recovery site for 8 months and still goes to work everyday. Terryl Elder, a trainer of dogs for the K-9 unit will be co-leading the program along with his dog, Maximus. Both dogs and their handlers have extraordinary 9/11 experiences to share.

Meeting the dogs provides parents of young children an opportunity to open a child-friendly discussion about the events of September 11, 2001. Tribute plush rescue dogs will be available to encourage ongoing discussion of 9/11 at home and to celebrate the valuable work that rescue dogs perform every day.

This touching program repeats every 30 minutes.

This event is free and open to the public by reservation only. To reserve a space, please contact rsvp@tributewtc.org.