Meet Trakr, a German Shepherd from Canada, trained as a police dog in Halifax. He had already made a name for himself by uncovering over a million dollars in stolen goods and locating missing people. But it was his actions on September 11, 2001, that would etch his name into history.
When news of the terrorist attacks reached his handler, James Symington, a Nova Scotia police officer, he felt compelled to act. Without waiting for orders, James and Trakr jumped into a van and drove 14 hours straight to Ground Zero. They arrived in the early hours of September 12 and joined first responders in the search for survivors.
That morning, Trakr made a momentous discovery. His keen senses led him to the scent of a survivor buried beneath the rubble. Trakr’s alertness guided rescue workers to the spot, where they found Genelle Guzman, a 30-year-old office worker who had been trapped for approximately 26 hours. She was the last person found alive beneath the World Trade Center.
Trakr’s heroism didn’t go unnoticed. Time magazine named him one of history’s most courageous animals. But the story doesn’t end there. In 2008, Symington entered Trakr’s DNA into a cloning contest held by a California-based biotech company.
Trakr was the winner, and in June 2009, five cloned puppies—Trustt, Solace, Valor, Prodigy, and Deja Vu—were born. Symington trained them to become rescue dogs, continuing Trakr’s legacy.
Trakr passed away in April 2009, but his story lives on as a testament to courage, determination, and the unbreakable bond between a man and his dog.