In my journey as an artist over the past twenty years, I have photographed a lot of dogs (and cats too!). Shortly after 9/11, when I set out to meet and photograph search-and-rescue and therapy dogs, I again, took a lot of photos. Unfortunately, to-date I have not been able to paint all of them. Many did find their way to my canvas, but admittedly not all. I have however, saved every-single-photograph I have ever taken of an animal. Over time this has amounted to bins upon bins of photographs.  Some are only a picture, others have a name scribbled on the back - possibly with some other information. Whenever I sit down to go through my files, such as I did to compile this tribute, I often wonder what may have become of these wonderful kids.

Looking through the photographs of these search-and-rescue and pet therapy dogs I am reminded of the greatness these animals have provided year over year of their lives. Undoubtedly they have made a difference in a person's life - much in the same way many humans have. There is something to be said for the healing power of a dog's companionship, their ability to save us from danger and even teach us a few life lessons. Don't believe me? The next time you're having a bad day, take a seat next to your four-legged friend for just a moment and you'll know exactly what I mean.

It is for this reason that I compiled additional photographs of search-and-rescue and pet therapy dogs that I took along with Sky, Fidel, Annie, Joey and Sophie. These dogs deserve our attention and admiration as well. Enjoy.

-Artist, Ron Burns

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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. This tribute may just cover a few of the thousands of stories tied to that fateful day in September, 2001, but I believe they all deserve to be told and re-told. These stories, 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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