The 9/11 Dogs: The heroes who searched for survivors at Ground Zero
Meet the dogs who searched for life amongst the ruins of the Twin Towers.Many heroes were made on 9/11 and in the weeks that followed. Not all of them showed human courage. Some of them could only show that they were truly man’s best friend. German Shepherds, Labradors and Spaniels accounted for the majority of the four-legged heroes.Over three hundred search and rescue dogs worked the pile at Ground Zero and the crash site at the Pentagon. For hours they searched, fighting off exhaustion with sheer determination and they continued every day long after the hope of finding survivors had passed.There were faithful Guide dogs who helped their sightless owners out of the Twin Towers and led them to safety showed unstinting devotion in the face of adversity. And later, therapy dogs arrived to bring comfort to the bereaved and confused. At every stage of the operation, dogs were there helping humankind in various roles. And invaluably, they provided comfort and reassurance and lifted spirits by their pure presence.Sadly many of the dogs are no longer with us but their achievements will never be forgotten. Isabel George was fortunate that the people close to the dogs were pleased to be asked to share their stories. This book is to honour the dogs and their people.
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Certain details in this story, including names, places and dates, have been changed to protect the familyâs privacy.
HarperTrueFriend
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First published by HarperTrueFriend 2014
FIRST EDITION
Text © Isabel George 2014
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Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2014
Isabel George asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
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available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780008105099
Ebook Edition © September 2014 ISBN: 9780007584369
Version: 2014-12-17
âA dog comes into its own when the chances of survival are against it.â
New York firefighter
Contents
Chapter 2: Final Expression of Unconditional Love
Chapter 3: Salty, My Friend and My Hero
Chapter 4: Comfort for the Dying
Chapter 6: The Search for Life
Chapter 7: âDuty. Honour. Countryâ
Chapter 8: Healing for the Heroes
Chapter 9: Brave Dogs Will Not Rest
Chapter 10: Carrying a Nationâs Hope
Chapter 12: Remembering the Loved and the Lost
Lower Manhattan, New York, March 2002. I stood on the waterfront just a stoneâs throw from Ground Zero. Inadequately dressed for the bite of a New York winter, I clenched the short stack of press packs I had been carrying for the past two hours closer to my chest. That morning, the CNN weather reporter announced that this would be the coldest day of the year so far, yet I had still managed to leave my hotel room without gloves and a scarf. I quickly discovered that a bundle of slim paper folders and my thin English wool coat were no match for a minus-twenty wind chill.
Trying hard not to visibly shudder, I looked into the crowd ahead for a distraction. There must have been around 300 people gathered to watch this unique medal ceremony. Television crews and photographers were taking up their positions by the stage, where the soon-to-be-honoured guests included City of New York police and fire officers, alongside search-and-rescue teams and their counterparts from all over the United States. As they mingled with the dark-suited civilians, including representatives from the British Embassy and the Mayorâs office, the gold braid on their dress uniforms glistened in the flashes of winter sun. And at their feet, the canine heroes of the hour obediently sat, wondering what all the fuss was about.
German Shepherds, Labradors and spaniels accounted for the majority of the four-legged guests. Some of the dogs were in their dress uniform too, with coats bearing the emblem of the organisation they were representing. For two Golden Labradors â Salty and Roselle â six months earlier the walk into Lower Manhattan would have been a daily part of their routine. These two guide dogs knew this place well, as their masters had worked in the World Trade Center and the dogs had accompanied them into the city every day. If they had any memory of the last time they were in this part of town it would have been a traumatic recollection of leading their owners down over seventy floors of the North Tower and running through a cloud of thick, grey ash surrounded by screaming people fearing for their lives.
That day they were meeting colleagues, police and rescue workers they had not seen since 9/11, and the dogs were enjoying the praise and attention of everyone around them. This was, after all, their day â a presentation ceremony devoted to acknowledging the courage of the dogs who played a vital role during and after the terrorist attack on 11 September 2001. Dedicated search dogs now stood beside devoted guide dogs, and the canines who came to offer comfort and solace to the exhausted and the bereaved. Warm breath rose from the dogsâ damp muzzles and drifted into the icy air. Everyone gathered that morning was there to see one thing â the dogs honoured for their loyalty in the face of human tragedy.
As the British High Commissioner took his place on the podium, the handlers checked that the dogs were forming a straight line behind him. With military precision they stood tall. Even Salty and Roselle took the hint that this was a time to sit rather than lie down. A hush fell and all eyes turned to the line of dogs on the stage and the small table where three large bronze medals had been arranged for presentation. In my elevated position at the back of the crowd, I had a full view of the stage. As part of the team involved in putting this presentation together, I knew the stories behind all the dogs and their people. I had worked on the speech that was about to be delivered and knew I would be mouthing every word, but still the enormity of this occasion, which had brought so many people together to honour these incredible dogs, hit hard. Despite the location and the normally bustling time of day, nothing stirred to break the tranquillity of that moment. Cutting clearly through the cold air, the speech was a sombre commemoration of all that was lost that day in 2001, and a celebration of the animal courage and exceptional devotion displayed by the guide dogs who remained devoted to their duty and the search dogs who stepped onto the smouldering pile. Even the dogs listened intently, unaware that they were the centre of everyoneâs attention.
