Lindenhurst 9/11 Memorial Statue Restored

The 9/11 canine memorial statue that fell victim to vandals at the start of Memorial Day weekend is now standing proud once again.

On Friday a new replica of Hansen – the patrol, search and rescue, and cadaver dog who served with former Chief and former NYPD Canine Officer Steve Smaldon at Ground Zero and during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita – was installed in a more prominent spot in the .

“Chief Smaldon came to the committee last night and told us it was ready to be installed,” Doug Madlon told Lindenhurst Patch. Madlon’s the co-chair of the Lindenhurst Remembers committee and .

“Everyone was very happy about it. They were 100 percent in support of his efforts. And he kept us all informed every step of the way. He did an outstanding job,” Madlon said.

Smaldon purchased and placed the original statue of Hansen in the garden with the consent of the committee and the village three years ago. After it was vandalized, Mayor Tom Brennan, Madlon and the committee let Smaldon take the lead on replacing the statue.

“People reached out to him with offers of donation after it happened,” Madlon said. “It’s encouraging that so many came forward to help.”

The money, time and materials to rebuild and reinstall the new statue were donated, according to Madlon and Smaldon. There was some money left to beef up security, they added.

“We have a little extra money left over so we’re going to install security cameras next week,” Smaldon said. “We also moved it to a better location in the garden.”

Hansen’s new bronze likeness now sits closer to the entrance, facing Irmisch Avenue.

“It’s closer to the road and it’s more secure,” agreed Madlon, who noted that police have told the village there’ve been no leads yet about who vandalized the statue.

However, the village has offered a and is the First Precinct to help close the . Police patrols have also been increased.

Many have expressed about the incident, especially the neighbors living across the street, according to Smaldon and Madlon.

They were happy to learn that the monument was being reinstalled. “And if they see something, they’ll call it in,” Smaldon added.

The new statue will be during the ceremony the village is planning for the 10th anniversary of 9/11, according to Madlon. The ceremony will include .

“I wanted a small ceremony, and suggested something small on a Friday night," Smaldon said. "I don’t want to take away from the families, but they were really adamant that they wanted it the same day."

Now that Hansen’s back in the garden to honor service dogs everywhere, in particular the search and rescue canines of 9/11, Smaldon and Madlon are pleased.

“It’s great that people donated money and wanted to help,” Smaldon said.

“The good really rose up to get this monument rebuilt and reinstalled,” added Madlon.