Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) June 29, 2005
The Baltimore Orioles will honor Bear, America’s most decorated canine and a hero of 9/11 at Wednesday night’s game against the New York Yankees in Camden Yard (7:05 p.m.). Proceeds from a designated section of seats will go to Bear’s legacy ÂÂ The Bear Search and Rescue Foundation. The New York law firm Proskauer Rose established the foundation in memory of the eleven-year-old Golden Retriever shortly after his death in 2002. The foundation provides funds for equipment, training, and transportation to search and rescue teams around the country.
Bear, along with his dad, Captain Scott Shields, led the first search and rescue teams at Ground Zero. While tirelessly working the pile, the eleven-year-old golden retriever was credited with finding the most victims, including beloved FDNY Chief Peter Ganci. After the World Trade Center tragedy, Bear became a goodwill ambassador around the world. He was honored as a Hero to Humanity by the United Nations, and his photograph displayed there for the World Peace Celebration in 2003. Three states have declared Captain Shields and Bear Days, including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The United States Army, the 108th United States Congress, and the Queen of England’s Scots Guards have also honored Bear. The Scots Guards even wrote a song in his honor.
On September 11, 2004, the FDNY-EMS Academy in Fort Totten, New York commemorated the now famous golden by etching his name into a brick that is part of a permanent monument to the fallen heroes of 9/11. Bear was wounded at Ground Zero and died one year later of multiple forms of cancer. He was buried as a fireman and his memorial service attended by thousands on the USS Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York Harbor.
Bear is the subject of the book, “Bear: Heart of a Hero” by Captain Scott Shields and Nancy West. World-renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall has called the biography of the heroic canine “one of the best human/animal relationship stories I know of. Bear’s storyÂÂ both in his valiant efforts at Ground Zero and through the work of The Bear Search and Rescue FoundationÂÂis one of courage and deserves the attention of everyone.” The book will be sold at Camden Yards during the Wednesday evening game. Authors Captain Scott Shields and Nancy West will be available for signings.
For more information about The Bear Search and Rescue Foundation go to www.bearsearchandrescue.org or call 732-713-6298.
For more information about the book Bear: “Heart of a Hero” (Hero Dog Publications, 180 pp, $ 15.95) go to http://www.herodogpublications.com or call 914-525-6483.
Media Contact:
Nancy Mintzer
914-525-6483
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