HERO DOGS

September 11 and a Canine Hero Named Roselle

She led her blind owner down 78 flights of the World Trade Center

Some years ago I had the opportunity to attend a conference sponsored by The International Association of Pet Cemeteries & Crematories held in Memphis, Tennessee at The Peabody Hotel. As a pet columnist I was interested in learning more about the emerging industry of pet cemeteries.

The highlight of the conference was guest speaker, Michael Hingson. He’d been featured in recent articles and television programs as the blind man who escaped from the North Tower on 9/11 with the assistance of his guide dog, Roselle.

I remember how the room fell pin-drop silent as the then 51-year-old Hingson recounted the events of that day. He was seated in front of the group of around 100 people with Roselle snoring loudly but peacefully at his feet.

Blind since birth, he was a successful sales manager for Quantum Data. It was just another typical day on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center, he began.

He’d been chatting with staff members as they prepared for a sales seminar in the conference room that morning. A big breakfast platter had been ordered for the seminar participants.

Hingson recalled that the first warning something was amiss was when he heard a muffled thump and the building began to sway side from side. It was 8:46 AM.

Was it an earthquake?

As people around him began to panic, his service dog Roselle remained calm — yet anxious to leave the office.

They didn’t yet know a Boeing 767, American Airlines Flight 11, had struck the North Tower. The plane ripped through floors 93 through 99 going 500 miles an hour.

“I took a moment to call my wife and tell her there was an explosion at the World Trade Center and that I was heading home,” he recalled. As they shuffled downwards, Hingson caught a familiar smell. As a frequent airline passenger, he noted, “It smelled like jet engine fuel and the air tasted like kerosene.”

The further they traveled down the steps the hotter it became. Hingson’s group was sweating in the dark 90-degree passageway, and the young yellow lab was panting. A colleague noted Roselle was experiencing “cotton mouth,” as she appeared to be frothing a white foam.

As people continued to spill into the stairway there was a surprising sense of orderliness. Everyone kept to the right and there was no pushing, shoving or hysteria. It was as if everyone knew their best chance at survival was to plow forward in a determined march to safety.

By the time they reached the 50th floor the temperature in the floors they had just escaped tipped over 1,000 degrees. As they continued their approach even more people crammed into the stairwells.

At one point they encountered firemen, loaded down with equipment and heading up the stairs.

“I’ll never forget them,” said Hingson quietly. “They asked us if we needed any help. Although you’re never supposed to pet a working guide dog, several of them did. It was the last act of kindness they experienced before they died.”

As they continued down the stairs, Hingson over and over told Roselle what a good dog she was and what a good job she was doing. He believed he and Roselle helped calm the people around them because they saw how focused he was, and how in charge his service dog seemed to be.

It took almost an hour for Hingson and his group to make it to the lobby. Even after they escaped the building they still had other perils ahead, including the collapse of the towers, which sent a cannonball of dirt, glass and debris rolling into the streets.

When Hingson, Roselle and the other members of his group made it to the North Tower lobby it was around 9:15 AM. There they were met by NYPD officers who told them the building was getting ready to collapse and that they should run for cover.

As they fled Roselle guided Hingson through Lower Manhattan, both of them choking on dust and fighting their way around flying debris. She eventually led him to a subway station where he reckoned they were finally safe.

The most miraculous part of his story, he stated, was the unwavering calmness of Roselle. Having outlived several other dogs in his lifetime, Hingson had only been with Roselle for nine months.

In concluding his talk that day, Hingson spoke about the importance of mutual trust between us — their guardians — and the animals we take on as companions.

“In the human-animal bond only one side can betray that trust.”

For several years Hingson served as a representative for the non-profit organization, Guide Dogs for the Blind. In 2008 he formed his own motivational speaking company and today continues to travel the world speaking on trust and teamwork.

In 2011 he published the New York Times bestseller, Thunder Dog: The Story of a Blind Man, a Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero, which chronicles the events of 9/11 and focuses on the power of trust and faith in the face of crises and adversity.

After a long illness, Roselle — at age fourteen — passed away on June 26, 2011. Soon afterward Hingson created Roselle’s Dream Foundation, a nonprofit that educates people on blindness and helps blind people pay for technology products to help them better navigate their world.

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