- Title: USA: GUIDE DOG LEADS BLIND MAN TO SAFETY DURING ATTACK ON WORLD TRADE CENTRE.
- Date: 26th September 2001
- Summary: WESTFIELD, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 25, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. TRACK: MIKE HINGSON WALKING OUT OF HIS HOUSE WITH GUIDE DOG "ROSELLE" 0.22 NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 11, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 2. GV/CU: WORLD TRADE CENTER ON FIRE, BEFORE COLLAPSE/ CLOSE UP OF TOWER ON FIRE (2 SHOTS) 0.35 WE
- Embargoed: 11th October 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: WESTFIELD, NEW JERSEY / NEW YORK CITY, USA
- City:
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA6HG6870M40ZJ50CJX4X3EJACO
- Story Text: Dogs are known for being 'man's best friend', but the
bond between one World Trade Centre worker and his dog is
literally life-saving. Minutes after the first plane crashed
into the North Tower, guide dog "Roselle" leapt into action
leading her blind master down 78 flights of stairs to safety.
It was the walk of their lives, 78 flights of fuel
filled stairs. Mike Hingson, who's been blind from birth, says
the only way he made it down safely was due to his guide dog
"Roselle".
On the morning of September 11th, Mike was preparing for
a business meeting on the 78th floor of the North Tower of the
World Trade Centre. Then a plane smashed into the top of the
Tower. Mike says he felt the building shake and sway. When the
Tower shifted back into position, he grabbed Roselle and made
straight for the emergency stairs. He knew it would take a
long time, but couldn't risk the elevator, after smelling the
fuel and smoke from up above.
As people crowded down the emergency stairs and
fire-fighters made their way passed them upwards, Mike says
Roselle maintained her calm, "I'm sure she sensed there was
something that wasn't right that there was something
potentially bad, we'd never been through that before, but it
wasn't like she felt immediately threatened, she wasn't
running away or trying to run away. As we were going down the
stairs she just did that, she just focused very well and just
went down the stairs guiding which is what she's trained to
do."
The journey took more than 40 minutes and even when they
had reached the bottom, Mike still didn't realise what had
happened. The second plane going into the other Tower escaped
them, all they heard was a dull thud, the bowels of the
emergency stairwell muffling all sound from the outside.
After escaping from the North Tower Mike, a friend and Roselle
walked through the WTC Plaza, then they heard the awful sound
of the first Tower crashing to the ground. Unable to see what
was happening, Mike panicked that the building was going to
fall on them. He ran and ran, letting Roselle guide him,
before finding a subway station to take cover in.
After a long day walking around Manhattan, Mike finally
made his way back home to New Jersey, where he could tend to
Roselle, and check she hadn't been hurt by the flying debris
and smoke filled air. Amazingly the 3 year old Labrador was
unaffected by the dust and fumes, all she was in need of was a
good bath.
While Mike and his wife are still trying to come to
terms with what has happened, Roselle seems to have taken the
terrible disaster in her stride.
After Roselle's heroic guide-dog descent, she has been
allowed a few extra treats, but with two weeks now passed
since the attack, she's back on her strict routine, being
constantly trained how to look out for her blind owner.
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