The 9/11 Dogs: The heroes who searched for survivors at Ground Zero. Isabel George
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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 – 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 dogs’ damp muzzles and drifted into the icy air. Everyone gathered that morning was there to see one thing – 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 everyone’s attention.
The ‘old man’ of the NYPD K-9 unit – a German Shepherd named Appollo – looked to his handler, as if to ask, ‘What’s going on here?’ His big feet restlessly pawed the ground and his huge pink tongue licked around his greying muzzle. He looked nervous on the stage, but for a police search dog with more than eight years’ experience, sitting still was not likely to be a favourite pastime. He was not alone. Just along from Appollo sat another German Shepherd, Charlie, who looked more like a golden-coated bear than a regular search dog. He was also trying to encourage his handler to move along and get working. It was taking all the female officer’s powers of persuasion to hold her playful canine companion in check, much to the amusement of her colleagues.
Standing still against the wall of cold air, I sensed someone at my side, and as I looked to my right I raised my eyes to meet the gaze of a handsome man wearing a yellow hard hat and a red chequered shirt under a reflective jacket. At his feet a German Shepherd sat looking forward into the crowd, but every now and then he exchanged glances with the man. Maybe he was trying to tell his master that he wanted to join the other dogs sitting on the stage. He certainly looked excited, and his bushy ginger-and-black tail wagged as he sat patiently on the cold ground. The big dog shivered, the cold penetrating his thick, damp coat. I knew how he felt. Then, without a word, the man reached across and gently prised my right hand away from the folders in my frozen grip. Opening my hand, he placed a small thermo heat pad into the palm and closed my fingers around its instant warmth. Then he took my left hand and repeated the process.
‘Thank you,’ I said.
‘That’s OK, ma’am,’ he replied.
Quickly switching both heat pads and the bundle of papers to one hand, I reached down to pat the dog, a big warm nuzzle meeting my cold fingers. As he pushed his head into my coat I noticed that he, too, was in his working gear. His reflective jacket was spattered with globs of hardened mud and his paws were as dirty as his master’s boots.
‘Hello, boy. You OK?’ I said, sinking my hands into the dog’s deep fur until it reached his warm skin. As if to answer me, the dog turned and in an instant licked my face from chin to forehead. Rising to my feet, I said ‘thank you’ and gave one more pat to the great dog’s head. He looked at me and then at his master and seemed pleased that he had made a new friend. I couldn’t help wondering if the man and his dog had walked over from Ground Zero to watch the ceremony, and maybe they had. The site was still being cleared and the skills of a CSI dog would be essential now the search was down to detecting traces of the human loss. It seemed appropriate that this team, still in action, would witness medals being bestowed on the four-legged heroes.
Many heroes were made on that day 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. Over 300 search-and-rescue dogs worked ‘the pile’ at Ground Zero and the crash site at the Pentagon. The New York Police Department’s K-9 unit and the city’s Fire Department search dogs worked alongside teams from all over the United States. They walked, drove and hitched lifts into Lower Manhattan where, in the chaos, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) welcomed the volunteer search-and-rescue teams. Within hours of the North Tower collapsing, the dogs were on duty. Wearing their harnesses, and some in jackets, they padded through the hot ash and weaved among the ruins of twisted metal and broken glass in the hope of finding life. Desperate to recover their colleagues, rescue workers tore into the rubble with their bare hands. Trusting the dogs to locate those buried, they called out for the dogs to help – ‘Dog over here! Dog over here!’ – and the dogs entered the danger zones. For hours they searched, fighting off exhaustion with sheer determination, and they continued every day long after the hope of finding survivors had passed.
The 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. Later, the 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 people’s spirits purely by their presence.
The dogs sitting dutifully at the feet of their owners and handlers on the stage were to receive the ‘animals’ VC’ – the equivalent of the British Victoria Cross and the US Medal of Honour – for conspicuous gallantry in the face of conflict. Awarded by the charity PDSA (the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, founded in London in 1917), the Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 and was quickly recognised throughout the world as the highest honour for animal bravery in any theatre of war.
From that moment on 14 September when President George W. Bush declared war on terrorism, the dogs’ significant role in the aftermath of the 11 September attack gained deserved recognition. Their actions had taken place at the heart of the conflict and the speech at their medal presentation reflected the respect of a grateful nation. The dogs’ ‘heroic deeds’ and their ‘steadfast loyalty’ during that incredible time prompted a long and strong round of applause. As I glanced around I noticed that there were people wiping tears from their faces. There was open emotion wherever I looked, and the gentle giant beside me with the dog at his heels clapped his hands as he joined in the praise pouring out for the canine teams. The ceremony represented a sentiment long overdue for the handlers – reassurance that their contribution mattered and all their efforts were not in vain.
It is unlikely the dogs were aware of their invaluable contribution to the search that began that warm September morning. They were working and following their canine instinct, applying learnt skills in extraordinary circumstances. Just by being on the scene these dogs influenced human behaviour. Dogs can only be honest. They never make demands or ask the impossible, and they never think anyone is foolish – even when humans think differently. The Ground Zero dogs stepped in as deeply generous, trusted and non-judgemental friends at a time when those qualities were needed more than ever.
Remembering the day when most of the Western world stood still, there remains an inspirational message in the many instances of canine bravery that proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a partnership based on unconditional love can be the most powerful of all.
‘Come