Roselle & The Firefighters

The keynote speaker at BlogPaws told a story about a man and a dog who made it out of the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001. The man was blind. His guide dog, Roselle, led him to safety from the 78th floor. That man was Michael Hingson.

"The most miraculous part of the story to me is the part that people don’t pay attention to," Hingson told a reporter. "That is, that we were less than a hundred yards away from Tower 2 when it collapsed. And we had to run for our lives, literally, to get away from the falling tower." Hingson said Roselle displayed the same qualities that fateful day that she always had. "She did exactly what she was supposed to do to keep us running and avoiding other people," he said. "Because everyone was running in sheer terror and panic."

Michael Arms, that keynote speaker, met Michael Hingson some years ago. Hingson shared with him that as he and Roselle made their way down all those steps they passed firefighters going up. The firefighters asked again and again if he needed assistance. Each time he indicated Roselle had the situation under control. And over and over, Hingson could feel a firefighter's hand brushing his dog's head ... hero to hero.

On this anniversary of 9/11, remember all the heroes of that day. And thank a firefighter.