Hero Guide Dog Led Blind Man To Safety On 9/11
A Remarkable Story
The remarkable story of a blind man and the guide dog that led him and dozens of others to safety just moments before the World Trade Center crumbled 10 years ago has become an instant best-seller. Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog & the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero made its debut on the New York Times bestseller list in its first week of release.
Co-authored by Susy Flory, readers follow Michael Hingson and his yellow Labrador Retriever, Roselle, in a firsthand, moment-by-moment account of not only what it was like to be inside the World Trade Center when Tower One was struck, but of each painstaking step between the 78th floor and survival on the streets below moments before the tower collapsed just yards away. You can order the book from michaelhingson.com ($23.95) or at Amazon.com
Roselle Did Her Job Perfectly
Michael Hingson has told this story countless times. “On Sept. 11, 2001, my guide dog Roselle and I were working in the World Trade Center on the 78th floor of Tower One when the airplane crashed into our building.” Amid the horror and confusion that surrounded him, Mr. Hingson, who is blind, never doubted that the 3-year-old yellow Labrador retriever would lead him to safety.
“From the outset, Roselle guided and did her job perfectly, as we went to the stairwell and traveled down 1,463 stairs. After leaving the building, we were across the street from Tower Two when it collapsed. Despite the dust and chaos, Roselle remained calm and totally focused on her job, as debris fell around us and even hit us.
“We found a subway entrance, where we could escape the heavy dust. All that day Roselle worked flawlessly. She saved my life and truly is the greatest dog hero of all.”
“In that stairwell in Tower One, there was no smoke, but we smelled jet fuel and assumed a plane had hit the building,” said Mr. Hingson in a telephone interview from Novato, Calif., where he now lives. He had been working as a regional sales manager for Quantum Corporation, a Fortune 500 computer firm.
Unfazed By The Extraordinary Day
Roselle seemed unfazed by that extraordinary day, he said. At home that night, she played with her toys and her people as usual. She continued to cheerfully and flawlessly lead her partner.
And she had her idiosyncracies: Although fearless during the terrorist attack, Roselle was afraid of thunder.
Roselle Becomes A Hero Award Finalist
Mr. Hingson nominated Roselle for the first American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards. He learned more than 300,000 voters picked her as one of the eight finalists.
The competition is stiff, and all of the dogs deserve to win. Go to herodogawards.org to see the candidates. Internet voting continues through Sept. 30. The top dog will be announced at an Oct. 1 gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, which will be broadcast Nov. 11 on the Hallmark Channel.
Each finalist won $5,000 to donate to charity. Roselle’s winnings go to Guide Dogs for the Blind, the San Rafael, Calif., organization that raised and trained her.
She Lived To A Ripe Old Age
“Life just went back to normal” until 2004, when a routine veterinary visit revealed that Roselle’s blood was not clotting as it should, Mr. Hingson said. The diagnosis was an auto-immune disorder. Good veterinary care and monitoring enabled her to lead a normal life until 2007, when routine blood work revealed poor kidney function.
“I think it’s related to 9/11, but there’s no way to prove that,” Mr. Hingson said. “We decided to retire her, thinking a more leisurely lifestyle would extend her life, and that’s what happened.”
Roselle had been happy to work every day, and she was equally happy to stay at home and live the life of a pampered pet with Mr. Hingson and his wife, Karen. She did not resent Africa, the yellow Lab who became the new guide dog.
“Roselle was always mischievous, and she always loved stealing socks and playing with them,” Mr. Hingson said.
Roselle died on June 26. She was 13, which is a fairly ripe old age for dogs of her breed.
Roselle Will Always Be Special
“She had a long and happy life,” said Mr. Hingson, who is making sure that Roselle will never be forgotten. She has a Facebook page (put Roselle 911 Guide Dog in the search box), a foundation, and a book, which just came out.
Roselle’s Dream is the foundation Mr. Hingson, now a motivational speaker, is starting to raise money for computers and other technology that can improve the lives of blind people. The foundation will also strive to raise awareness.
“The goal of Roselle’s Dream is to win equality for blind people,” Mr. Hingson said, starting with this dismaying statistic: “The unemployment rate is 70 percent for blind people with employable skills.”
Mr. Hingson, 60, has had seven amazing guide dogs in his life. He loved them all, but Roselle will always be special.
