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Meet Ground Zero’s Dog Detectives

In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York City, over a hundred dogs were sent to the Ground Zero looking for bodies. Charlotte Dumas has photographed 15 of the surviving dogs…

Animals have always been important in the work of photographer Charlotte Dumas.

Charlotte couldn’t get the images of dogs helping excavate Ground Zero in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

The dogs were brought in from all over the USA to help retrieve the bodies of those killed on September 11.

Ten years later, she has tracked down fifteen surviving search dogs and taken their portraits. She’s now published a book Retrieved.

Charlotte told Ross Solly it was a project she became emotionally involved in.

“I started this as a side project and it soon became clear I had to travel all over the United States.

“When I found myself travelling to all these places and being let in people’s homes, and hearing all these stories from back then, it was very effecting.”

Listen to the interview, Charlotte Dumas speaks with Ross Solly…