Tacoma Police Department social media post.
On this day in 1982, K9 Ryker, a 6-year-old German Shepherd, was struck by a vehicle at 40th St and Portland Ave. He and his handler were responding to a commercial robbery by an armed suspect. K9 Ryker had obtained a good scent and was tracking the suspect when he was struck by a driver who was unable to stop in time. Ryker died 40 minutes later at a local veterinary hospital. K9 Ryker was the Tacoma Police Department’s first K9 and is credited with more than 50 felony apprehensions and 30 misdemeanor arrests. To this day, his name adorns the department’s “Ryker Award”, given to K9s and their handlers for exemplary work in protecting the public. K9 Ryker: End of Watch, Dec. 26 1982.
It’s hard to match the courage of a good dog.
What a wonderful tribute to K9s. Dogs are truly man’s best friend.
At the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City is a special commemoration of “The Working Dogs of 9/11”. This exhibition pays tribute to the canine responders that were ready when the country needed them. Trained search and rescue dogs and their handlers were deployed by FEMA to assist in rescue efforts at the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. The dogs worked around the clock to locate survivors in the rubble, alongside firemen and other rescuers. The display cites “After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, dogs and handlers served at the Pentagon and World Trade Center sites, family assistance centers, and the forensic recovery operation at Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island. Hundreds of these K-9 teams searched the wreckage for survivors and victims, or comforted responders and the families of 9/11 victims.” The pictures of first responders on their knees weeping in the wreckage and hugging their dog are heartbreaking. Ten years later, Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas tracked down 15 of the surviving dogs at their homes where they still live with their handlers to photograph them to publish in her book. Her powerful portraits portray the everyday lives of these specialized animals, sharing the dog’s dignity, grace, and vulnerability of old age of these once heroic servants. The book is titled “Charlotte Dumas: Retrieved”