Other articles with keyword "DOGGIEPING" since 12/29/04
Posted on 08/27/2006 8:27:00 AM PDT by WestTexasWend
Five years later, many Americans still find it hard to face the assault on humanity that took place Sept. 11, 2001.
In Nona Kilgore Bauer's impressive book "Dog Heroes of September 11th, A Tribute to America's Search and Rescue Dogs," the author introduces more than 75 highly trained dogs from across the country who helped bring closure to families affected by the terrorist attacks.
Interviews with owners reveal that, for many dogs, a reward for a rescue can be a spirited game of tug.
Yet with fewer than two dozen survivors found and more than 2,000 killed, the dogs who worked tirelessly at the dangerous World Trade Center site - called the pile - took no time off for play, only rest.
Rose Keller DeLuca, the Pennsylvania-based owner of the German shepherd Logan, explained, "From time to time, Logan would 'find' a rescue worker working beneath the pile and we would hear her barking. I will never forget an excited fireman coming out of a hole with my dog, saying 'I think she found someone.'
"But I could tell from the way Logan was looking at him that my dog thought she had found him."
Tara is a Labrador retriever owned by Lee Prentiss of Massachusetts. Prentiss mentioned afterward, "Tara is trained to find live. But we have spent so many years together that I could read her body language. She would drop her tail, show interest in an area and start to circle around it. I would give her a pat and tell her she was a good girl. I couldn't praise too much or it would upset the reward for finding live."
Owners of these rescue dogs are members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the author states in the book's introduction that it was impossible to find and identify all of the dogs who worked such sites as the pile, the Pentagon and the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island.
Bauer wrote that, within hours of the twin towers' collapse, the city began transporting millions of tons of debris by truck and barge from Ground Zero to the landfill.
"Mixed in with the labyrinthine mass were countless pieces of human remains, the victims who had perished," explained Bauer.
Dogs certified for finding cadavers were dispatched to the scene.
Sue Lavoie, working with her white German shepherd, Jerry, said, "The dogs at the landfill not only brought closure to many families, they also sidelined as therapy dogs."
"Dog Heroes of September 11th" includes more than 250 color photographs and 77 interviews with handlers and rescuers. Many of the same dogs arrived to help after Hurricane Katrina.
The interviews are, by nature, episodic. But the overall story remains gripping.
Sales of this book, published by Kennel Club Books, will benefit the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, helping to finance the training of more four-legged heroes.
I hope they included "Ben" here in Texas. He is owned by the Robertsons and has done a spectacluar job in the Katrina aftermath.
The Westminster Dog Show did a tribute to these canine heroes the year following the disaster.
It was a moving presentation, with not a dry eye in the house.. my house included.
Of the dogs at Ground Zero, two were FEMA certified search and rescue dogs sired by the grandfather of my new puppy!
He also sired a bunch of MHs, 34 seeing eye dogs, and 2 bomb detection dogs. Smart boy.
Bookmarked this posting to my animals folder for latter reading. Thanks.
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