9/11 Secret Service K-9 Officer Dan Hughes | Mike Ritland Podcast Episode 204

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Dan Hughes was working as a Special Agent in the New York Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service when the first plane hit the North Tower on September 11th, 2001. As the second plane hit the South Tower, Dan set up an on-site triage area for the injured, witnessing atrocities and providing life-saving assistance that would later earn him the U.S. Secret Service Medal of Valor for his actions on the day. Later, Dan joined the Secret Service's Technical Security Division as an Advance Agent, supervising explosive detection canine sweeps for the President, Vice President, and major Heads of State, where he would discover a major K-9 shortage for preforming pre-event security sweeps.

To help fill the role, Dan would go on to join the Bismarck Police Department in North Dakota, developing key K-9 team strategies along with his own business, 'Dogs for Defense' where he would personally subcontract K-9 security work in Iraq and Afghanistan alongside K-9 Adak (later named USA Today's #1 Most Heroic Dog) with Blackwater and other private security companies during height of the Iraq War in 2007. Today, Dogs for Defense continues to provide some of the finest working dog solutions around the world. 

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Support Dan Hughes - 

Dogs for Defense Inc. 
https://www.dogsfordefense.com
https://www.instagram.com/dogsfordefense

Dogs for Defense Foundation 
https://www.instagram.com/dogsfordefensefoundation

Kilo9er 
https://kilo9er.com
https://www.instagram.com/kilo_9er

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