Inspired by the Search & Rescue Dogs that responded following the attacks on 9/11, the Penn Vet Working Dog Center opened on September 11, 2012 and serves as a national research and development center for detection dogs. 

Meet the heroic search dogs of 9/11 (PDF)...

With the United States national security under constant threat from attacks, detection dogs are still the best tool that we have to detect and mitigate potential threats. Search dogs are also critical for locating victims of natural and man-made disasters.

The special scenting ability of dogs also allows them to serve in important ways such as cutting edge research to support global health or conservation detection.

As pioneers in the working dog field, our goal is to increase collaborative research and the application of the newest scientific findings and veterinary expertise to optimize the performance of lifesaving detection dogs.