Never Forget: Moving in Their Memory

September 11, 2026 — 25 Years Later

Four paws. Two feet. Thousands of names. One promise: Never Forget.

Twenty-five years.

There are certain dates that stop being ordinary numbers on a calendar.

September 11 is one of them.

Yesterday, I wrote about the dogs of 9/11—the search-and-rescue dogs and other working dogs who served beside their human partners in circumstances they could never possibly understand.

Today, I want to remember everyone.

The people who went to work that morning expecting to come home.

The people aboard the planes.

The people at the Pentagon.

The passengers and crew of Flight 93.

The firefighters, police officers, EMTs and other first responders who ran toward danger.

The people who helped strangers.

The people who searched.

The people who survived.

And the thousands of people who never came home.

Twenty-five years later, I don’t want them to become simply images from an old news broadcast or numbers in a history book.

They were people.

They had names.

They had families.

They had plans.

They had somewhere they expected to be that evening.

And they deserve to be remembered.

This Isn’t About Politics

Before we go any further, I want to make something clear.

This isn’t about politics.

It’s not about political parties or telling anyone what they should believe.

September 11 affected human beings.

Americans were killed, but citizens of many other countries were lost that day as well. Families and communities around the world were affected.

And in the hours, days, weeks and months that followed, people stepped forward to help.

So, whether you’re reading this here in the United States or somewhere else in the world, you’re invited to remember with us.

We remember history because history can teach us.

We can learn about preparedness.

We can learn about service.

We can learn from failures.

We can learn from courage.

We can learn about protecting our communities and caring for one another.

And perhaps most importantly, we can remember what can happen when human beings decide that another person’s life matters.

A Photographer Behind the Camera

There’s one name I want to remember personally today.

Glen K. Pettit

Glen and I attended NYIT together. He was my friend and, in many ways, one of my early photography and photojournalism mentors.

During my time working as photo editor for our school newspaper and learning the craft of photojournalism, I learned from him. We also did our externship together on LI News Tonight (NOT NEWS 12!)

And yes, looking back, there’s something that makes me smile:

Why the heck was I the photo editor when Glen had all that experience?

I don’t know.

Maybe he didn’t have the time.

What I do know is that I learned from him.

Glen eventually became an NYPD officer and worked in video production.

On September 11, 2001, he went to the World Trade Center with his camera to document the rescue response.

He never came home.

That camera means something different to me.

Because I know what it means to stand behind one.

A photojournalist watches.

Anticipates.

Frames.

Documents.

You preserve a fraction of a second because you understand that the moment is going to disappear—and somebody needs to remember that it happened.

Glen went there to document history.

He became part of it.

So today, when I pick up my own camera, I remember him. What was the last thing he saw or shot WITH A CAMERA! (the world will never know because he never shared that he had his camera in hand and in a flash he and his camera were gone!)

Today We’re Moving With Intention

Freedom and I exercise together nearly every day.

We walk.

We run.

We practice doga.

We work on strength.

But today’s workout is different.

Today we’re moving in remembrance.

This isn’t a reenactment of September 11.

Nothing we do in a backyard, on a yoga mat, on a walking trail or during a workout could replicate what people experienced that morning.

Nor should we try.

Instead, we’re giving ordinary movements meaning and intention.

Think about stairs for a moment.

For most of us, they’re ordinary.

Up.

Down.

One foot after another.

But on September 11, stairs became escape routes for thousands of people descending the towers—and the route upward for firefighters and other responders heading toward people who needed help.

So, when Freedom and I climb today, we’re simply going to remember.

One step at a time.

🐾 Our Never Forget Doga Practice

Today’s doga isn’t about getting a pose perfect.

Each movement has a meaning behind it.

Warrior represents courage—not aggression, but the courage required to stand when something difficult is in front of you.

Hero reminds us that heroes came in many forms that morning. Some wore uniforms. Some didn’t.

Our standing movements remind us to remain grounded.

Our reaching movements represent something especially important:

Reaching toward one another.

This may be my favorite movement of today’s practice.

Freedom rises onto her hind legs.

I reach upward.

And we connect through one paw and one hand.

We’re calling it:

Reaching for the Towers.

We’re not pretending we’re reaching toward the buildings themselves.

We’re reaching toward the memory.

Toward those we lost.

Toward those who served.

Toward the dogs who searched.

And toward the responsibility those of us who are still here have to build something better with the time we’ve been given.

We reach higher for a kinder, stronger, healthier tomorrow.

Download and Practice With Us

You can download our workout sheets here.......For a limited time they'll be free- so download them today and try them out with your BFFF (Best Furry Friend Fur ever).......NOT sure how long they'll be FREE so get them now!

$5.00 $0.00 9/11 Workout Sheets

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Print it. Save it. Practice it with your dog.

There’s no charge.

It’s simply our remembrance gift to you.

And remember: your dog doesn’t need to perfectly imitate a human yoga pose.

Let your dog be a dog.

💪 Strength in the Core: Strength With Meaning

Get them so you can download them today and try them with your BFFF and remember together while doing something fun together!!

$5.00 $0.00 9/11 Workout Sheets

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Our Strength in the Core workout has meaning today, too.

We’re keeping our foundational push-ups, sit-ups and plank.

But instead of chasing numbers, I’m thinking about what movement can represent.

Push-up — Rise again.

We get knocked down. We push ourselves back up.

Sit-up — Keep returning.

Come up. Reset. Begin again.

Plank — Hold steady.

Sometimes strength isn’t movement at all.

Sometimes strength means holding on.

And our additional strength movements can remind us of climbing, carrying, supporting, reaching and persevering.

Again, these exercises don’t reproduce what anyone experienced on September 11.

We’re not recreating history. We’re remembering it through movement.

Keep it.

Print it.

Do the entire workout or choose the movements that work for you.

Modify anything you need to modify.

The important part today isn’t the number of repetitions.

It’s the reason you’re doing them.

👟 Walk. Run. Remember.

You don’t have to practice yoga.

You don’t have to lift a dumbbell.

You don’t have to do a single push-up.

You can walk.

You can run.

You can wheel.

You can sit outside.

You can spend a few minutes with your dog.

You can simply breathe.

Freedom and I will walk and run today.

Not for a pace.

Not for mileage.

Not for a medal.

We’ll move because we’re able to.

Maybe dedicate your walk or run to someone who didn’t get to go home that night.

Learn a name.

Remember a first responder.

Remember a civilian.

Remember a dog and handler.

Remember someone you personally lost.

Today isn’t about how far you go.

It’s about carrying somebody with you.

Warm Up the Body. Prepare the Mind.

Before we start, Freedom and I will use our regular gentle warm-up.

We’ll breathe.

Roll our shoulders.

Circle our arms.

Loosen our hips.

Do an easy March.

Freedom gets involved with WATCH and TOUCH.

But today, those few minutes can serve another purpose.

They give us time to decide why we’re moving.

Choose somebody.

Choose a memory.

Choose an intention.

Then begin.

And when we’re finished, we won’t immediately rush into the next part of the day.

We’ll cool down.

We’ll sit.

We’ll breathe.

And we’ll remember.

For Those Who Didn’t Come Home

There were survivors.

There were rescuers.

There were people who carried September 11 with them for years afterward.

And there were thousands who never got another morning.

No exercise represents that.

No pose should try.

This is where movement stops.

We remember them in stillness.

And Then We Keep Walking

When this photograph was taken, I wasn’t trying to manufacture symbolism.

I was simply walking with Freedom.

But afterward, I noticed things.

Freedom’s head was down.

Almost as though she were taking her own quiet moment.

I was looking ahead.

And even the hat on my head has history.

It’s something I deployed with years ago.

I didn’t choose it because I was making a September 11 photograph.

I just put it on.

Somehow, that makes the photograph mean even more to me.

Freedom and I are walking away from the camera.

But we’re not walking away from the memory.

That’s the difference.

We continue living.

We continue working.

We continue helping.

We continue learning.

We continue walking.

Moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting what is behind us.

Sometimes moving forward is exactly how we carry it with us.

Twenty-Five Years Later

Today, Freedom and I can get up.

We can walk.

We can run.

We can stretch.

We can work.

We can breathe.

That’s a privilege.

So today we’re going to use it.

For those who served.

For those who helped.

For those who searched.

For those who documented.

For those who survived.

For those we lost.

And for those whose lives were forever changed.

Four paws.

Two feet.

Thousands of names.

One promise.

NEVER FORGET

In memory of Glen K. Pettit and all those lost on September 11, 2001.

Have a happy and healthy tail wagging day remembering and never forgetting,

Pam & Freedom 🐾

Doggone Healthy Choices

Before You Go…

This isn’t our usual kind of post.

And tomorrow we’ll go back to talking about dogs, movement, wellness, training, food and all of the other things we normally share.

But today deserved something different.

If our Never Forget Doga workout, Strength in the Core workout, our run, or something in this story meant something to you, we’d love for you to do two things.

First, tell us.

Reply or leave a comment and tell us how you’re remembering today.

Maybe you’re walking.

Maybe you’re running.

Maybe you’re practicing with your dog.

Maybe you’re remembering someone personally.

We want to hear their name.

And second:

Share this with someone.

Send them this post.

Invite them to download the workouts.

And if they’d like more dog-and-human health, wellness, movement and stories from Freedom and me, invite them to subscribe to Doggone Healthy Choices.

We normally email once a week.

Today was an exception.

Because some days deserve an extra check-in with the people—and the dogs—who make up our little corner of the world.

Reach out.

Check in.

Help somebody.

Remember somebody.

Move together.

And let’s keep trying to build a happier, healthier, more compassionate

and much more tail-wagging—world. 🐾