When Tatra went into labor on the day of the World Trade Center attack, Cindy Hiemenz knew there was a purpose to this litter of eight male German shepherds.

        The way the Illinois breeder tells it, fate pointed her to Mike Owens and his search-and-rescue dog, Worf, in Monroe.

        Mr. Owens, president of Southwestern Ohio K-9 Search and Rescue Team, was forced to retire Worf, his most experienced canine, last month after the 12-year-old German shepherd became traumatized during their recent search mission at the World Trade Center.

        Ms. Hiemenz, owner of Von Fenwald Kennels in Wonder Lake, Ill., about 65 miles northwest of Chicago, said she was moved by an article about the pair that ran in the Enquirer.

Mike Owens and search dog Worf of Monroe were at ground zero in New York for two days, helping rescue efforts at the World Trade Center site. (Enquirer file photo) | ZOOM |

        After tracking Mr. Owens down, she offered to donate the pick of Tatra's litter to succeed Worf.

        “When that whole thing hit,” Ms. Hiemenz said, “I was devastated like everybody was. I kept thinking, "What can I do to give back and help our country?'

        “I thought it was a sign,” she said of the birth of Tatra's litter about 18 hours after the terrorist attacks.

        Ms. Hiemenz said she was touched that Mr. Owens took Worf to New York despite the dog's age.

        “There was no question in Mike's mind that his most seasoned dog had to go,” she said, calling Mr. Owens' efforts heroic.

        Mr. Owens will pick up the champion-line pup in about five weeks and begin training it for search and rescue.

        “I didn't expect such generosity,” he said. “We were honored she would think of us to replace Worf.”

        The pup — whose grandfather Lasso vom Neuen Berg was named world champion in 1998 — is worth more than $2,500, Ms. Hiemenz said.

        As for Worf, Mr. Owens said he continues to recover. The canine lay down and refused to work the first day at the site after helping find the body of a firefighter.

        “He's coming around. He still has some edginess to him, but he's picked his eating back up,” Mr. Owens said.

        He said he had reservations about taking Worf because of his age.

        “But when something like that happens, you pull out all the stops,” Mr. Owens said. “He did his job and he retired on his own terms.”

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