A Vow to Rebuild Damaged 9/11 Monument

It was a monument dedicated to the work and memory of service dogs everywhere, but on the morning of May 27 it lay in the middle of the Lindenhurst Remembers 9/11 Memorial Garden on the ground, a victim of vandalism.

SCPD First Precinct officers were called Friday morning to the garden at Heiling Boulevard and Irmisch Avenue after and caused what police are calling “extensive damage to the statue.”

Up until about 3 a.m. the statue of – the patrol and search and rescue dog who served with former Chief and former NYPD Canine Officer Steve Smaldon – stood as a reminder of all of the dogs who worked to find people and then remains at Ground Zero in the months after the WTC fell.

“He was a patrol dog who was cross-trained as a search and rescue dog with FEMA,” Smaldon told Lindenhurst Patch. “We worked at Ground Zero for about eight or nine months.” Hansen was later cross-trained as a cadaver dog.

Smaldon had the statue built with his own money a few years ago, and with the consent of the Lindenhurst Remembers 9/11 Committee, it was installed at the garden during the annual commemoration three years ago.

“The dogs who worked at Ground Zero gave people – firefighters, police officers, families – who were there a good feeling in the middle of all of the tragedy. They always showed up with a wagging tail, ready to work,” said Smaldon, who also responded with Hansen after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Hansen passed soon after that.

That’s why the thought Smaldon’s statue of Hansen would be a good thing.

“We lost eight people in the community on 9/11,” Doug Madlon told Lindenhurst Patch. “They’re going to be so upset that this happened. It’s just incomprehensible that this should happen, especially on Memorial Day weekend.”

Smaldon shared his sentiment. “You wouldn’t think people would think that way. I just don’t understand why. They’d have to know what it is,” he said, adding that it was bad enough the statue was knocked to the ground, but at least the individual memorials weren’t touched. “The families have lost enough.”

Both Smaldon and Madlon – who co-chairs the Lindenhurst Remembers 9/11 Committee – are committed to replacing the statue.

“Even if I have to pay for another one myself,” said Smaldon, who’s already received calls from people looking to help and donate.

“In talking with , he assures that we’ll do everything possible to get to replaced,” said Madlon. “We’re committed to having a new one installed as soon as possible, and prior to the 10th anniversary.”

The village is set to hold .

Madlon said the village is also looking into putting a security camera at the garden, which stays locked when it’s not open to the public 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

That’s why both Madlon and Smaldon were shocked at the determination of the person or persons responsible.

“I was there at 8 p.m. at the nearby field at my son’s little league game. Everything was fine,” said Madlon. “It was about 3 a.m., according to one of the neighbors, that there was a commotion. The next morning that neighbor’s garbage can was found in the Village Pond – it was used to scale the fence – and the statue was decimated.”

The 300-lb. cement statue of Hansen appeared to have been rocked off the stone base, with the rebar broken and feet strewn.

“I got a call about 8 a.m. from one of the village guys who take care of the park,” said Smaldon, who also visited Hansen’s statue yesterday.

First Precinct officers responded after being called to the scene by the village. “The Suffolk Police have been wonderful,” said Madlon.

The SCPD is asking anyone with information to call the First Squad at 631-854-8152 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.