9-11 Therapy Dog To Be Honored At National Dog Show

OAKS, Pa. (CBS) - A 9-11 therapy dog from Allentown is taking on some special duties at next weekend's premier dog show in Montgomery County.

A distinguished honor for Eli: the 12-year-old Belgian Sheepdog has been named Therapy Dog Ambassador for this year's National Dog Show, hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia.

Eli is one of the last of the remaining therapy dogs who comforted first responders and victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York City.

"There was a group of us from the Allentown area, the Greater Lehigh Therapy Dogs," says Sherry Hanley, Eli's owner. "And, we all just hopped in a van and we went up there and we were stationed at the command post at the Liberty State Park."

Eli is also a former AKC Dog Show award winner and is the father of two dogs competing among the Belgian Sheepdogs at the National Dog show.

You can meet Eli and the competitors in the benched show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks on November 19th and 20th.

Reported by John McDevitt, KYW Newsradio 1060