Suffolk County, NY - September 9. 2016 - In memory of all the victims of September 11, 2001, we would like to thank all of the First Responders who also put their lives at risk.
The phone call came in the morning- NYPD seeking assistance from the Suffolk County SPCA with our mobile animal hospital. Would we come to the city immediately? Please bring all available supplies and personnel. A disaster of untold proportions. Chaos and devastation everywhere.
We set up our MASH unit as close to the site as we could. We grabbed medical supplies and climbed through the debris and falling ash to provide immediate first aid to the search and rescue dogs and their handlers.
Photo by: SCSPCA.
Our SPCA volunteers, as well as the veterinarians who arrived, responded without hesitation. They faced unspeakable horror and showed incredible courage, sacrifice and patriotism. All kinds of dogs responded to Ground Zero-all shapes, sizes & breeds and with various job descriptions including search & rescue, cadaver, bomb dogs and even comfort therapy dogs.
Some of the ailments suffered by the dogs were severe dehydration-they had to be rehydrated intravenously. We provided booties for their paws that were cut up by the sharp debris or burned from the smoldering ruins. Their eyes had to be irrigated with saline solution because of pollutants in the air. Their ears had to be cleaned-their bodies washed anddecontaminated-cuts had to be sutured, scrapes and abrasions attended to. Yet they endured and kept on working like the true soldiers that they are.
During the grueling 8 weeks that the Suffolk County SPCA was at Ground Zero we provided almost 1,000 treatments to the more than 300 courageous K-9's that came from all over the country. We even provided first aid to their handlers. We also helped civilians retrieve their pets from the evacuated apartments. Our peace officers escorted them from Pier40 to their homes, brought them to our MASH unit for medical evaluation and returned them back to Pier .
The brave dogs and handlers that worked at Ground Zero faced immense danger during that horrific time and one thing has been proven to all of us-that these courageous canines-in the best of times and in the worst of times are truly man's best friend!
In Memory of Bretagne, believed to be the last surviving 9/11 Ground Zero Search Dog. The golden retriever was 16. She was laid to rest June, 2016.
Recollection from Dr. John Charos... Veterinarian at the World Trade Center
Tuesday, September 11, 2001 was my day off. I woke to the alarm clock tuned to a local radio talk show. During the typical morning banter, a caller was put on the air who reported the events at the World Trade Center. I flipped on the news and was, like every American, amazed at what I saw on TV.As a veterinarian, I felt helpless despite my years of training and work in critical care. Our city was paralyzed.
At 4:30am on Wednesday morning, I got a phone call and came to find out that the Suffolk County SPCA had mobilized immediately on Tuesday and had the foresight to collaborate with OEM (the Office of Emergency Management in NYC) on setting up their mobile hospital right at Ground Zero. Roy Gross and the team of dedicated animal protectors were in place to help the neighborhood pets and available for any medical need they could fill. Little did they realize how key their timing and location would be. They were in place at Ground Zero and seeking to schedule veterinarians for shifts with the Search & Rescue dogs. They had a brand new mobile hospital unit. They were stocked and staffed with officers, but needed Vets and medical personnel.
The conditions were extreme. The dust was debilitating. Throughout the days we treated lacerations, trauma from steep falls, infected eyes, irritated ears and dehydration. Understandably, time was running out. There was a very small window in which to find survivors and the area to be searched was humongous. Spot fires and unstable footing made the dog's work almost reckless. But the dogs were our only real hope in those conditions. When everything is turned upside down and coated with inches of silt, only a dog's keen sense of smell would have a chance of finding a survivor. So we did whatever we needed to keep those dogs working, without compromising such brave animals. Perseverance and dedication were defined by the rescue workers during those weeks at Ground Zero.
NYPD Lieutenant Daniel Daniel Donadio
The NYPD K-9 Unit, headed by Lt. Dan Donadio, assisted the NYPD in subway patrol, tracking and criminal apprehension, in addition to search and recovery. Lt. Donadio's job at the WTC site was to supervise and direct the deployment of Police K-9 resources at the site and throughout New York City. The handlers have custody of their dogs 24 hours a day, at home and at work, allowing for a close personal bond between the handlers and dog. Formed in 1980, the unit also has responded to other major disasters, including being on the scene of the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Lt. Dan Donadio had seen many magnificent dogs during his 20 years on the force. So, choosing just one of his canine heroes for ACE consideration was difficult. He finally decided on Patrol Dog Appollo, a 9-year-old German Shepherd Dog.
Pictured: Pete Davis & Appollo.
"Apollo was there within a half hour to an hour of the second collapse," Lt. Daniel Donadio, head of the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit's canine team, said proudly in an interview. "Pete [Officer Peter Davis] and Apollo went right on the pile. Some rubble gave way under the dog ... and flames shot up around him." Unscathed and undaunted, Apollo kept on going, just as he and the 33 other dogs in the canine unit have continued their daily 12-hour shifts at the Trade Center site in an effort to recover remains. They have to be the longest working, most hard-working dogs ever," Donadio went on. "I like to call them 'New York's Most Faithful.'"
Gerald Lauber, Retired Chief of Detectives, Suffolk County SPCA
The Suffolk County SPCA was called to duty early on September 11, 2001. After receiving a call for assistance from the NYPD K-9 unit Chief of Detectives Gerald Lauber went into action by coordinating the response for the agency. The major part of the support provided by the SCSPCA was to be temporary veterinary support for the K-9 SAR dogs at ground Zero. The SCSPCA was tasked with developing and implementing a plan that would support the hundreds of SAR dogs and handlers who responded to the tragedy at ground zero .
After five days the VMAT team arrived at our operations center on West Street. The SCSPCA had ten fully functioning work stations each supported by a veterinarian and at least one vet technician. Medical supplies were in place and all aspects of medical care were provided for both the K-9's and their handlers. The commander of the VMAT team Dr, Barry Kellogg saw the functionality of the SCSPCA's operations and decided to operate in conjunction with the SPCA rather than on its own. As a result of this collaborative multi agency effort the SCPCA was able to provided 40 days of continuous service to the first responders at ground zero.
The SCSPCA was the first humane agency in the nation to be responsible for the coordination and delivery of essential services for K-9's at such a major terrorist inflicted disaster area. Chief Lauber, along with prominent veterinarians like Dr. Cindy Otto, who pioneered national research on the effects of toxic exposure on SAR dogs a ground zero, collaborated on the seminal article that defined the field treatment for SAR dogs. The organizational visual tools used by Chief Lauber clearly defines the organizational relationships for command and control that must be in place prior to any response to a major multi agency response. Copies of the report are available by request from the Suffolk County SPCA.
Canine Heroes of 9-11
The dogs had a very important role in the rescue efforts at Ground Zero.
A dog's sense of smell has been estimated to be at least one thousand times more sensitive than ours; they have as many as 220,000,000 olfactory cells, compared to a human's 5,000,000; while you might be able to hear something roughly 50-100 feet away, a dog can hear something as far away as a quarter of a mile, sometimes even further. Dogs are dedicated and motivated beyond the limits of exhaustion like no human could ever be.
Penny Sullivan, NJ Urban Task Force One
I remember getting the page at 9:18 AM that morning. All Task Force members were to report immediately to NAVAIR Lakehurst, where New Jersey's Urban Task Force One is based, for deployment into New York City and the Twin Towers.
Living north of the city, I remember driving down to Lakehurst with my dog, Quest, and seeing the massive clouds of black smoke across the river as I passed. Once at headquarters, we waited for transportation into the city with the necessary police escort up the closed Turnpike and through the Lincoln Tunnel. Security was understandably extreme and checks were made of our bus at several points.
We made a quick stop at the Javits Center, and then down to meet the rest of the team just north of Ground Zero. We waited in the swirling dust and dark to be called.
At last the word came, "Bring the dogs!" Our Task Force handlers and dogs were led through a maze of corridors, over piles of scattered debris and a myriad of fire hoses, past the destroyed Winter Garden, before finally stepping out onto what had been West Street.
The scene was incredible - surreal - truly unbelievable to us all. Swirling smoke and dust and total destruction as far as the eye could see. That first night there was little lighting, but with what there was we tried to divide the scene into some kind of sectors in order to assign each team a search area.
The dogs were absolutely amazing. All that work and training came into play. They moved over the twisted steel and debris with ease, even on beams stretching over burning pits below. It was clear the dogs were searching, as they had been trained, to find the missing victim hidden somewhere in the pile of rubble before them.
Of course, that was not to be. Though we worked long and hard, and through their interest the dogs indicated multiple areas where human remains were found, no trained bark alerts were heard and no survivors were found.
When the search was called for the night, we had our dogs checked out at the Suffolk County SPCA unit near the site. Each dog was carefully inspected for any cuts or abrasions, their nose and eyes washed out and heart and lung function checked. Fortunately, the only mishap had been earlier during the search when one dog's fur had briefly caught fire, but it had been quickly extinguished.
We returned to what would be our home-away-from-home for the next nine days at the Javits Center. There each handler shampooed their dog thoroughly, then fed and bedded them down for the night before the handlers washed and ate themselves.
I know I and the other handlers will be forever grateful for the assistance of the Suffolk County SPCA and all the VMAT teams and personnel who worked so hard to maintain our dogs' good health throughout those critical days following the 9/11 attacks.
My heartfelt thanks to you all.
Bob Deeds & K-9 Kinsey
I got Kinsey in August of 2000 from DFW-LR (Dallas-Fort Worth - Lab Rescue). Kinsey was found on an elementary school play ground in Grand Prairie, TX. She was a big, beautiful black girl. She was muscular, lean with a massive barrel chest, and the biggest feet God ever put on a dog. She had droopy lab eyes, which on closer inspection, always bore a mischievous glint. She was magnificent.
Kinsey taught me everything I know about handling a dog. One year and two weeks after we started with Texas - Task Force One we were called on our first mission. It was September 11, 2001. We were being called to search for survivors of the collapse of the pentagon. By the time I got to College Station, where the task force is based, our mission had been changed to the World Trade Center. I had always wanted to serve my country. I grew up after the end of the Viet Nam war and felt guilty that I had never served. Now was my chance. I was issued my uniform. I put on my BDU top and I have to admit tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked at the American Flag patch sewn above the breast pocket. Kinsey, who was sitting in front of me, responded by licking away the tears. She always licked away my tears.
I trained her in a year. In NY, I always tell people that Kinsey was 25% search dog and 75% therapy dog. I will always remember the image of the NYC fire fighter who came up, knelt putting his forehead on Kinsey's and cried, tears dripping from her ears. That image is burned in my soul and I get teary eyed writing about it. I had to ask her many times to put her life at risk and she never, ever wavered, even the slightest amount. Kinsey had an effect on almost every area of my life.
She was my partner and friend. In New York, Kinsey was one of the recipients of the PDSA Dickens Medal for Gallantry (the highest gallantry award for animals in the world). She got inducted into the Tarrant County Veterinary Medical Association "Hall of Fame." She remained brave to the end. When it was time, she kissed my hand, closed her eyes, and went to sleep. She didn't fight it. She was on the next adventure.
Dr. Barbara Kalvig & Dr. Michael Shorter Remember... Veterinarians at the World Trade Center
It is difficult to comprehend that ten years have passed since the fateful day we will forever so briefly refer to as 9/11. Three simple numbers, with a hyphen or a forward slash, will forever represent volumes of memories, of emotions, of images-for those directly touched by such incomprehensible disaster and personal loss-as well, for those who solemnly watched and remember the tragedy from around the country and the world. For first responders, that day abruptly changed our lives by consuming us in a way different than any other day before or since-responding to a tragedy of such scale was like making the sudden choice to dive into a massive waterfall, not knowing how or when the surface may come.
As veterinarians, our decision to respond to the need for medical assistance after the towers fell was natural. This was a disaster in our urban landscape, beyond the grandest scale of anything we had ever known or imagined. There seemed no other choice but for us to gather together as many medical supplies from our hospital as we could fit into a car with our team of veterinary doctors and nurses, and head downtown to help in any manner in which we were needed. We stopped where we were directed to go by law enforcement, and under physicians' command, our bodies and supplies joined an ever-growing ad-hoc triage site on a street corner safely away from the towers.
Eventually as the frenzy slowed and those at the plaza waited, city buses arrived without victims. Silently, hearing the rumors of why we were suddenly being moved further toward the site, we followed direction, gathering our piles of supplies and our teams together and rode toward Ground Zero. There were no words spoken amongst our busload of responders as everyone silently looked out the windows at the strange new landscape-- streets increasingly covered by ash and office papers everywhere, fluttering along the ground and in the breeze-- papers that only that morning had been organized in file cabinets or neatly stacked on desks within over 200 floors of acre sized office space.
Once dropped off on West Street just blocks north of the fallen towers, we set about delivering our supplies to a storage cache being set up at the community college. All that had come together for emergency medical triage, both people and supplies, were not, after all, immediately needed. The mission was not going to be the emergency treatment and transport of thousands of people, but search and recovery for the thousands yet missing. As the day wore into evening, thru the chaos of response efforts, we ran into other veterinarians and the police dogs who needed care through the night. On the morning of September 12th we were directed to the Suffolk County SPCA MASH Unit parked on West Street. Within 24 hours of chaos and confusion, the balance had shifted from preparing to help injured people, to preparing a workable system and stock for an on-site veterinary triage and treatment facility at Ground Zero.
For many weeks to come we would need to coordinate supplies, volunteer veterinarians and nurses, treatment protocols and communications. A core group of first responder veterinarians formed a solid bond with Suffolk Co SPCA Officers in charge on site and the rest is history. Over 200 veterinarians from all over the country worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, offerring treatment and rest to the many K9 Units who came to work at Ground Zero. In turn, the MASH Unit became a central focus of rest and solace for the many officers and handlers who were diligently working day and night to find survivors. As an example of a successful and terrific citizen response, when VMAT Teams arrived to the MASH Unit days after 9/11, the team leader said job well done and gave the nod to continue---what we had done as individuals coming together in those first days would continue at Ground Zero and grow and grow throughout the entire time of the search and recovery efforts.
Individual veterinary and Suffolk Co SPCA responders who had never met, came together and worked as one to form, schedules, protocols, and plans that would succeed and grow through all security obstacles and logistics changes over the months to come. As a great example of the human-animal bond, by creating an on-site triage and treatment center for the dogs, veterinarians were in turn helping people. Through treating and resting the dogs, veterinarians were involved in helping to treat the workers-- with conversation, a smile, a rest while providing kindness to their K9 partner. Treating and resting these magnificent dogs was a great contribution by members of the veterinary profession to the ongoing efforts of search and rescue at Ground Zero.
The Suffolk County SPCA
The Suffolk County SPCA, a 501(C)(3) Not for Profit is funded entirely by charitable donations. Our existence depends on your generosity, as we do not receive funds from any State or Local Government. Donations are tax deductible.