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NEW YORK CITY — In the aftershock of the worst
terrorist gambit ever to hit the USA, we learn that the greatest
inspiration can be found in the words, images and televised coverage of
the American peoples' patriotic strength. But now, pan the cameras
down a bit, and you'll find, just as heartening, the nation's dogs also upholding this great spirit of gallantry.
If you don't believe me, listen to
this:
New York resident Omar Eduardo Rivera was unfortunate
enough to find himself on the 71st floor of the World Trade Center north
tower when the hijacked airlinerstruck
the building 25 floors above him. Mr. Rivera, a computer
technician who is blind, was in his office with his
guide dog "Dorado" lying under the desk at the time.
According to the Contra
Costa Times report published today, Mr. Rivera described how he
unleashed his faithful friend, so that the dog might escape. But
despite the chaos and the crowds of fleeing people, the four-year-old
Labrador Retriever suppressed any selfish instinct for survival and instead stayed by the
man's side and guided him to safety.
Mr. Rivera describes the drama:
"I stood up and I could hear how pieces
of glass were flying around and falling. I could feel the smoke filling up
my lungs and the heat was just unbearable.
"Not having any sight I knew I
wouldn't be able to run down the stairs and through all the obstacles
like other people. I was resigned to dying and decided to free
Dorado to give him a chance of escape. It wasn't fair that we should
both die in that hell.
"I thought I was lost forever—the
noise and the heat were terrifying—but I had to give Dorado the chance of
escape. So I unclipped his lead, ruffled his head, gave him a nudge
and ordered Dorado to go.
"I
hoped he would be able to quickly run down the stairs without me and get
to safety. I thought he'd be so scared he'd run. Everything was in
chaos. Glass was shattering around my head and people were rushing past
down the stairs." |
Mr. Rivera and a little hero.
(Photo: REUTERS / Caracol Tv)
At that
point, Dorado was swept away by the rush of people fleeing down the
stairs, and Mr. Rivera found himself on his own for several minutes amid
the pandemonium. But then the unexpected occurred, in the form of
a familiar, fuzzy nudge from knee-high.
Mr.
Rivera explains, "He returned to my side a few minutes later and guided me down 70
flights and out into the street, it was amazing. It was then I
knew for certain he loved me just as much as I loved him. He was
prepared to die in the hope he might save my life."
Inside the egress stairwell,
they found some additional assistance from a co-worker. "I
took hold of her arm. She went down on my right side and the dog on my
left," says Mr. Rivera.
The narrow stairwell was extremely
crowded, and confusion exacerbated the situation. "People
were pushing and shoving past me. Everywhere there was a sense of
terror."
But according to the man, order
gradually prevailed: "...most people behaved quite prudently and grasped what was
happening, so we walked down in an orderly fashion, but it was slow
going. It was slow going because there were so many people
struggling to get out but Dorado kept nudging me down step by step."
It took more than an hour for Dorado,
Mr. Rivera and his co-worker to descend those 70 flights of stairs. Not long after they
had reached the ground and gotten to safety, the tower collapsed.
Says Mr. Rivera, "I owe my life to
Dorado—my companion and best friend."
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