"Some dogs retrieve tennis balls, Annie retrieves trust; some dogs herd sheep, Annie herds hope." Annie, a pet therapy dog, made over twenty visits to Ground Zero.

-Liz Teal

Rachel McPherson is the founder and Executive Director of the Good Dog Foundation, a New York City - based pet therapy organization. After September 11, the Good Dog Foundation worked with families of those who had been killed and with members of other impacted communities at the Pier 94 Family Assistance Center. Annie and Fidel were apart of this effort. Click here to listen to Rachel talk about the role played by the trained therapy dogs at the Center and at the WTC site and the effect they had.
From the 9/11 Memorial and Museum Website

A shy dog?  Maybe. But that is only how I saw her when I first met her.  She may have come across shy, but she wasn’t shy enough to make over 20 visits to Ground Zero and share her love for those needing a way to escape the tragedy, even if just for a few short minutes. Annie probably had the most powerful eyes of any of the dogs there that day.  For some reason, when I looked at her, I saw her wearing a flower tucked behind her ear – so, as not to demean the beautiful girl that she was; I painted the flowers in the background of the painting. Enjoy the process photos below.

-Ron Burns

The Good Dog Foundation makes a concerted effort to educate and inform the public of the benefits and possibilities of animal assisted therapy. The incredible benefits of this age-old practice are still not widely known. Therefore, The Good Dog Foundation utilizes many venues to inform people about this amazing practice. From events, such as educational appearances, community events, and therapy training classes to media, such as press coverage, brochures, and electronic communication, our team is working to get the message out. The Good Dog Foundation feels it is our responsibility to educate the public about the benefits of animal assisted therapy and to help loving dogs and their handlers lend their own unique gifts to the practice.

Click here for more information about the Good Dog Foundation

Click here to make a donation to the Good Dog Foundation

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Never forget. Two simple words we’ve all heard many times before. Sometimes though, words can lose meaning with time if we are not reminded of why the sentiment exists in the first place. Annie's story may just be one of thousands tied to that fateful day in September, 2001, but I believe it is one that deserves to be told and re-told. Her story, in part, will help us continue to remember why we should never forget. Your story will too.

This month, September 2011, marks the ten year anniversary of 9/11. I encourage you to use this time as a moment for reflection – to recall where you were that day and share your story with others. Our world, in many ways, is very different from the way that it was ten years ago. In many other ways, it is very much the same. Today we face new challenges, much as we did then, that cannot be solved with just one answer. While I recognize that our world moves at a pace that is hard to even keep up with - perhaps if we all pause for just a moment to reflect and ask ourselves how we each can help make the world a better place, we will find the answers we are looking for.

Regards,
Ron Burns

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