Hero Dogs of 9/11: Helping Hands for Hero Dogs
Reprinted from Cesar’s Way magazine
For the dogs who worked at Ground Zero, there was a supporting army of humans making sure they got through the ordeal. One of them was veterinarian Dr. Debra Campbell, on September 18, 2001, with Pete Davis of the NYC Urban Search and rescue Task Force and his dog Apollo.
The professionals in the veterinary MASH unit cared for as many as 100 dogs involved in the search, bathing them, checking for dehydration and chemical exposure, and treating any injuries they suffered scrambling through the rubble.
For her work at Ground Zero, Dr. Campbell, a member of the National Veterinary Response Team whose practice, Boston Pet Haven, is in Watertown, MA, received FEMA’s Merit Award.
An estimated 350 dogs from around the world participated in search-and-rescue operations at Ground Zero, some for a short time and others, like NYPD Officer Steve Smaldon’s German Shepherd, Hansen, for up to 150 days, A few years ago, when Hansen died, Smaldon commissioned a statue of his dog and donated it to a memorial park in Lindenhurst, NY. In May, vandals destroyed the statue, leaving only a plaque that reads: “Trained to Save. Live to Serve.”
