Perhaps you’ve seen this before, perhaps not – but I wanted to link to it – a slideshow tribute of all the tireless rescue dogs at Ground Zero in the wake of September 11. I clicked on it casually, from Tim Blair, and 2 or 3 slides in, I couldn’t look away, I was just overwhelmed with emotion.
I remember seeing some of those dogs, walking with their owners beside them, down the West Side Highway “to work” in the morning – meaning the steaming hole in lower Manhattan. Crowds lined the highway, to cheer all the firemen, rescue workers, ambulances driving by. We made signs, we stood there for 2 hours, screaming, crying, holding up the signs, shaking people’s hands – it was one of the most incredible mornings of my life. We wore masks on our faces, our eyes sometimes burned with the smell when the wind changed. And these PEOPLE, these dusty people walking by, driving by … Words fail.
And we saw a couple of the dogs stroll by, too, stepping jauntily on their leashes.
They were a part of the rescue effort, too, in those days immediately following, when there was still hope that there would be survivors. We cheered the dogs, too. We cheered them like crazy, reaching out to pet them as they walked by.
This slideshow is a tribute to them.
Thanks. I’ll be a-borrowing that link.
My husband & I picked up our friend & his K-9 at the airport the Sunday before 9/11. He was head of one of the kennels for the US Marines and he was coming in for some work at the UN. Needless to say, when the shit hit the fan, he and his dog found themselves at Ground Zero. Thanks for posting this link.
I remember hearing the stories of the dogs having bouts of depression because they couldn’t find any survivors – and their owners, and rescue workers and firemen would pretend to be dead bodies – to boost the dog’s morale.
Strangely moving.
Sheila, one of the readers of my dog site sent me a picture of his dog from the rescue work there. There is such seriousness on this dog’s face. I treasure this picture. It sits on my desk. I would like to write something appropriate for it, on the site. Words fail me though – I think about it every day.
Noggie – I definitely thought of you when I posted this.
This is one of many times in my life where I’ve thought, where would mankind be without dogs? They’ve played such a vital role, on so many levels…as companions, rescuers, assistance. Cats are cool, and perhaps being a lifelong dog person I’m biased, but a dog is just an incredibly awesome animal. Awesome link Sheila, thanks.
Jonah Goldberg wrote a lovely tribute to dogs that takes as its starting point their work after 9/11. Excerpt:
Consider Servus, a Belgian Malinois (a smaller version of the German shepherd) who arrived at the Twin Towers site with his owner, police officer Chris Christensen, the day after the disaster. While searching for survivors, Servus fell down a nine-foot hole into a mound of dust and debris. When they pulled him free, “he couldn’t breathe,” Christensen explained to London’s Sunday Herald Sun. Servus tried to vomit, to no avail. By the time the convulsions started and Servus’s tongue turned purple, between 20 and 30 men were gathered to help an animal they clearly considered a colleague (often, police dogs are given full-dress funerals). The canine was rushed to one of the veterinary MASH units set up to treat the rescue dogs as well as the numerous “civilian” animals and pets injured or abandoned in the surrounding residential areas.
The vets managed to resuscitate Servus, and he was given an IV. (It was not unusual to see rescue humans and rescue dogs lying beside one another, each with his own IV drip.) When the vets unstrapped the dog from the gurney and released him for some doggie R&R, he ran straight from the tent and leapt into the police car assigned to bring dogs to ground zero. “I couldn’t believe it,” Christensen told the Sunday Herald Sun. “I told him three times to get out and he just looked at me, so we went to work. We worked for seven hours.”
oh, sheila. you know me…i’m a sucker for anything with four legs….especially dogs. this made me cry. funny, because on my way to the market this morning i met a cop and his canine partner just getting off work….i stopped to talk for a minute and say hi to the dog (tucker). then i came home and found this on your blog.
Dogs are among the most versatile animals on the planet, and they’ve been our loyal companions for thousands of years. Not to start a cats vs. dogs argument here, but a dog is the only animal I can think of that will regularly lay down it’s life to save a human companion.
One thing that struck me about the slideshow: near the end, there was a dog with a fireman wearing a jacket indicating he was from the Salt Lake City FD. These dogs seen here came from all over the country to help search for the victims of an atrocity here in New York.
Bill, I saw that Salt Lake City thing, too! It just made me think: Jesus, people can be really good sometimes.
Wow, that link was really touching, especially Servus. Here’s another site for doglovers that will touch your funnybone.
http://www.skateboardingbulldog.com/
This guy’s good.