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| Wednesday, September
26, 2001
The World Trade Center's Heroic Rescue Dogs
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NEW YORK CITY —
Rescue and recovery teams labor on,
hardly scratching the surface but already absorbing the vastness
of what lies in the subterranean heap that was once the Twin
Towers. Now two weeks after the attack, New York quietly concedes that
the chances of finding any remaining survivors are highly unlikely.
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| Yet, even in this desolate atmosphere
we find something unexpectedly refreshing; humans and canines learn to
commiserate and bond in a way that only best friends can understand.
"They
may not cry to their fellow firemen or police, but somehow they open up
to the dogs."
— Laura
LoPresti, dog caretaker from Monroe
Township, Missouri |
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John Patrick and "Guese" take
a minute
to reflect inside St. Paul's Episcopal Chapel. (Photo: Sep 19, 2001 AP / Kathy Willens)
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| "All
they really want to do is work hard and love you. How can that not
raise the human spirit in us all?"
— Gerald
Lauber, Suffolk
County SPCA |
"Kinsey" of the Texas Task
Force One
has an injured paw treated—while dishing out her own dose
of fuzz-therapy to weary crews. (Photo: Sep 20, 2001, Mike
Rieger / FEMA)
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"Some
couldn't take it anymore. Rescuers asked to play fetch with
Thunder. But then they'd sneak off in a corner to just be with
Thunder, or maybe to talk with him."
— Bob Sessions, rescue worker, Federal Emergency Management
Agency
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"Just
petting a dog provides comfort to those who need it—and where I am now,
so many need it."
— Laura LoPresti, dog caretaker from Monroe Township, Missouri |
Ohio Task Force One's Gary Flynn and his
partner Tascha prepare for another shift.
(Photo: Sep 18, 2001, Michael Rieger / FEMA)
The therapeutic value of dogs at the
World Trade Center site has been widely recognized. CNN
correspondent Kitty Pilgrim reports, "Not all dogs are soldiering
through piles of rubble. One special unit was brought in to provide
emotional support to rescue workers. They
reach out to these dogs because it's OK to."
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An unidentified rescue worker adds,
"These dogs have been trained to pick up on trauma and goes towards
it. So they pursue people they perceive as being in a state of trauma
... We've been visiting a lot of firemen, police, and cleanup
detail."
"A
Golden Retriever was carrying his handler's helmet around the site in
his mouth, bringing smiles to the grim faces he passed."
—
Mac Daniel, The Boston Globe |
And compassion is a two-way
street. Exhausted, stressed and war-weary dogs receive the best
care, both physical and mental, that humans can give.
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"Worf" located the bodies of two
missing firefighters on the first day. Overwhelmed, he lay down
and curled up on the spot. The dog began shedding profusely, quit
eating and refused to play with other dogs. His partner Mike Owens
made the decision to
retire the 12-year-old German Shepherd from search-and-rescue duty
permanently. They are now back at home in Monroe, Ohio, where the
entire town takes turns petting and playing with Worf. (Photo: (Michael Snyder / Cincinati
Enquirer)
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"He kind of
withdrew from everything. There was so
much death there, it was emotional for the dogs."
— Mike
Owens, Southwestern Ohio K-9 Search and Rescue, speaking about his
partner Worf (above)
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"Morale
is important... So it's my job as handler to remove her from the pile
...
and then what we do is we set up a scenario for her that she can win
at. We used a New York firefighter. He actually hid amongst
a little bit of rubble ... and we sent her on a search. She finds
the firefighter. He plays with her real good. She's real
happy, and she's ready to go to work again."
— Mark Bogush, Tampa Fire Rescue, speaking about his partner
"Marley" |
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One-year-old "Porkchop" gets
some kind reassurance from partner Erick Robertson of Oakhurst, California.
SAR dogs—especially those trained to find living people—feel increased
stress and depression as time passes with no survivors found.
(Photo: Sep 19, 2001, AP / Suzanne Plunkett)
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It has become a common morale-booster
for rescuers to stage mock "finds", so that the dogs can feel
successful. "Woody" and his partner Terry Trepanier of the Ohio Task Force Unit
(above) are refreshed and ready for another go.
(Photo: Sep 18, 2001, Michael Rieger/ FEMA News)
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"The dog seeks a live person in hopes the
survivor will play with him. He's not finding a live person, so
there is no one to play with him. So when I get home at night, I
send my 12-year-old son to hide in the woods. Then Jax finds him
and they play tug of war with a towel."
— Tom Fahy, Passaic
County Sheriff's Dept., speaking about his partner "Jax"
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Picture Gallery 
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