a moment of reflection on September 11th, 2001
. . .The little dog lay curled and did not rise
But slept the deeper as ashes rose
And found the people incomplete, and froze
The random hands, the loose unready eyes
Of men expecting another sun
To do the shapely thing they had not done. . .
Richard Wilbur, Year's End, 1950
On Tuesday, March 5th, 2002, two very special dogs, "Salty" and "Roselle" were honored by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) and awarded the Dickin Medal. The Dickin Medal is Britian's highest honour for animals, and is commonly referred to as the 'animals' Victoria Cross".
Only fifty-five previous Dickin Medals have been awarded in the history of the PDSA, all for extraordinary heroism during and after World War II, in both a civil and military capacity. Of those fifty-five animals, only eighteen were dogs.
In the words of British Deputy Consul-General, Duncan Taylor, CBE, "[w]e are pleased and proud to award these dogs the PDSA Dickin Medal - the highest honour Britain can bestow on any animal in time of conflict or extreme danger - for their service to humanity."
What may surprise you is that Salty and Roselle were not Search and Rescue dogs, but guide dogs for the blind.
Salty led his owner, a Port Authority employee, down seventy flights of stairs after Tower 1 was struck, a struggle that lasted more than one hour. Salty was originally unleashed so that he might have a chance to escape the flames; however, within moments he returned of his own volition to guide his owner down the stairs and out into the street to safety.
Also trapped in Tower 1, Roselle guided her owner, a sales manager for Quantum, down from the 78th floor and ran with him for safety once on the street. Roselle also walked with her owner through the cloud of smoke and debris after Tower 1 collapsed, and even helped to lead others who were blind and confused in the choking dust.
The obstacles faced by Roselle and Salty were unthinkable, and the bravery of both Labrador retrievers is truly remarkable. In a time of sorrow, we celebrate their courage and strength of spirit.
During the ceremony, a third Dickin Medal was awarded to Appollo, a German Shepherd from the NYPD canine unit, who was selected by ballot to represent all the Search and Rescue dogs who tirelessly and selflessly worked at both the Pentagon and WTC site.