1 00:00:02,439 --> 00:00:22,679 Speaker 1: You're listening to Petlifradio dot com. 2 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 2: Welcome to Animaltopia on pet Life Radio. I'm your host, 3 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,960 Robert Simro. Thank you for joining us on today's show. 4 00:00:30,079 --> 00:00:32,000 We will speak with a few whose efforts on nine 5 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,359 to eleven and after have had a tremendous impact. We 6 00:00:35,399 --> 00:00:38,479 will speak with Alice Holmes from New Jersey Task Force One, 7 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,200 who along with her Live Find search and rescue dog, 8 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,920 was on the scene within hours searching the rubble. We 9 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,039 will also speak with John Valvardi from PA Recovery Dogs. 10 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:50,840 John was the assistant incident Commander for the K nine 11 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,600 Recovery Task Force at the Fresh Killed landfill on Staten 12 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,200 Island after the events of nine eleven. We will also 13 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,159 talk to noted author Nonah Kilgore Bauer, author of Hero 14 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,239 Dogs of nine to eleven, which chronicles seventy seven of 15 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:08,599 the search and rescue teams. She has recently updated the 16 00:01:08,599 --> 00:01:11,040 book with more than one hundred pages of new information. 17 00:01:11,799 --> 00:01:15,239 We'll be right back with Alice, John and Nona after 18 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,280 these messages from our sponsors. 19 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:22,439 Speaker 3: Sit stay, We'll be right back after a short pause. 20 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:29,079 Well for to be exact, love your pets, but wish 21 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,359 their medications were a lot less expensive they are at one. 22 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 4: Eight hundred pet Meds, You'll not only save on flea 23 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:39,120 and heartworm medications, but on prescriptions for arthritis, incontinence, thyroid 24 00:01:39,159 --> 00:01:39,519 and more. 25 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:41,680 Speaker 5: And you get fast service, free. 26 00:01:41,439 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 4: Shipping, and a one hundred percent satisfaction guarantee. 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Whether you're a member of a working dog team, 51 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,879 or you've just seen a working dog or animal out 52 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:10,800 at the mall or the grocery store and you're curious 53 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,400 about how these amazing animals work with their human partners. 54 00:03:14,479 --> 00:03:17,360 Been Working Like Dogs is the show for you. Join 55 00:03:17,479 --> 00:03:20,439 us for the inside scoop at Working Like Dogs on 56 00:03:20,599 --> 00:03:25,919 Petlifradio dot com. 57 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:37,319 Speaker 3: Let's Talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com. 58 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,719 Speaker 2: Welcome back to Animaltopia on pet Life Radio. We begin 59 00:03:40,759 --> 00:03:43,639 by revisiting a day that changed the United States forever. 60 00:03:44,159 --> 00:03:46,560 Nine to eleven is a day that will never be forgotten. 61 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:49,960 I can remember watching in terror and disbelief on that day. 62 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,719 In the hours and days that followed, I felt so 63 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:55,919 many different emotions and was glued to my television and 64 00:03:56,039 --> 00:03:58,960 riveted by the stories of the incredible efforts to rescue 65 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,520 anyone still alive and then to recover those who had 66 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,319 been tragically lost so that their loved ones could have 67 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,960 some small sense of closure and certainty. I was moved 68 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,599 to terrors on many occasions as I listened to the 69 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,680 heart wrenching stories. I was also filled with tremendous pride 70 00:04:15,879 --> 00:04:19,240 hearing about those who were there giving everything they had 71 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,639 for as long as they could. On this tenth anniversary, 72 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:25,079 I wanted to do my small little part to say 73 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,439 thank you to the estimated more than nine hundred and 74 00:04:28,519 --> 00:04:32,160 fifty plus search and rescue teams that worked so hard 75 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,399 for such an important cause. The more than nine hundred 76 00:04:35,399 --> 00:04:39,120 and fifty working teams were made up of civilian, government, 77 00:04:39,439 --> 00:04:43,600 law enforcement, and military personnel who served in response to 78 00:04:43,639 --> 00:04:46,199 the attacks of nine to eleven. I also want to 79 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,000 specially recognize and say thank you to the numerous other 80 00:04:49,079 --> 00:04:53,000 animal teams, especially the therapy dogs who also worked so 81 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,879 tireusly for such a long time after nine to eleven 82 00:04:56,319 --> 00:04:59,920 to help heal hearts and souls affected by this tremend 83 00:05:00,199 --> 00:05:04,279 his tragedy. According to FEMA, the rescue and recovery effort 84 00:05:04,319 --> 00:05:07,079 at the World Trade Center was the largest deployment of 85 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,680 search dogs in US history. Canine teams worked the various 86 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,040 sites for several weeks. There were some injuries, but most 87 00:05:14,079 --> 00:05:18,120 were able to be treated on site, including lacerations and abrasions. 88 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:22,639 The dogs and their handlers made themselves available on call 89 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,560 for twelve hour shifts and often worked longer than that. 90 00:05:26,079 --> 00:05:27,800 The only dog to lose his life on nine to 91 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,839 eleven was a yellow Labrador Retriever named Sirius. He worked 92 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,199 for the Port Authority as a bomb detection dog alongside 93 00:05:35,199 --> 00:05:38,560 his sergeant partner, David Limb. Limb and Sirius were in 94 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,319 the basement of the South Tower when the North tower 95 00:05:41,399 --> 00:05:43,720 was attacked. He put the four year old dog in 96 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,279 his kennel and left to check on the situation. Lim 97 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:50,240 told Sirius he would be back for him after he 98 00:05:50,399 --> 00:05:52,639 checked on what was going on in the North tower, 99 00:05:53,439 --> 00:05:57,160 but before lim could return, the South tower collapsed, followed 100 00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:59,759 by the North tower. Lim was trapped on the fourth 101 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:03,879 floor with six firefighters and an injured woman. They were 102 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,439 all safely rescued five hours later. Lim did come back 103 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,240 for Sirius as he promised, but it was too late. 104 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,000 He continued to look for his partner until eventually, on 105 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:18,319 January twenty second, two thousand and two, the dog's remains 106 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,560 were uncovered. The Port Authority held a memorial service in 107 00:06:21,639 --> 00:06:24,439 his honor and have since built a memorial at Battery 108 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,759 Park with a beautiful dog run. In addition the Finding One, 109 00:06:28,759 --> 00:06:31,959 another organization is working hard to bring awareness to the 110 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,480 working dogs. The first Serious Courage Award will be presented 111 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:42,439 posthumously to Sergeant Zanaia K. Kramer, USA, the first woman 112 00:06:42,519 --> 00:06:46,000 military working dog handler killed in combat in the history 113 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,240 of the United States. She died in Afghanistan on January twelve, 114 00:06:50,319 --> 00:06:54,680 twenty eleven. It will also be presented posthumously to Petty 115 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,759 Officer first Class John Dungardia. Dungardia was killed along with 116 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:01,480 his canine partner Bart, in the attack on the Seal 117 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:06,639 helicopter in Afghanistan on August sixth, twenty eleven. That attack 118 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:08,959 also claimed the lives of twenty nine of their fellow 119 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,279 service members. The award is named after the only dog 120 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:14,879 to be killed at Ground Zero and will be presented 121 00:07:14,879 --> 00:07:18,279 by his handler, Lieutenant Limb of the Port Authority Police. 122 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:20,800 As it's been a decade, many of the dogs that 123 00:07:20,839 --> 00:07:24,600 performed so heroically on and after nine to eleven have passed. 124 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,839 We begin with Alice Holmes from New Jersey Task Force 125 00:07:27,959 --> 00:07:31,079 Team one She and her dog named Chewbacca, were one 126 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:33,160 of the first teams to arrive at ground zero and 127 00:07:33,199 --> 00:07:37,399 begin searching for survivors. Alice, thank you for all that you, 128 00:07:37,399 --> 00:07:40,319 your dog, Chewbacca, and your team did on nine to eleven. 129 00:07:41,079 --> 00:07:42,720 Walk us through the day as. 130 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:43,319 Speaker 10: You remember it. 131 00:07:43,959 --> 00:07:46,879 Speaker 9: I was sitting at a college class at Rutgers University, 132 00:07:48,279 --> 00:07:52,279 and at that time our team had pagers. So basically 133 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:54,920 we're sitting in a class. My pager goes off and 134 00:07:55,079 --> 00:07:57,759 look canned. It actually has a print out and it says, 135 00:07:58,399 --> 00:08:02,720 refert to lake her station. We're being deployed to WTC. 136 00:08:03,519 --> 00:08:07,240 I didn't really recognize WGC them. It's an acronym, but 137 00:08:07,319 --> 00:08:08,759 you know, you really didn't think of it that way, 138 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:11,639 and most people probably didn't. And the pager goes off again, 139 00:08:11,959 --> 00:08:14,000 and he goes off again and it says, don't call, 140 00:08:14,439 --> 00:08:18,600 just come whole. Teams being deployed. So jumped in my car, 141 00:08:19,839 --> 00:08:23,720 left Rutgers University, which is in Brunswick, and headed down 142 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,360 the New Jersey Turnpike hopped off. I had called my husband. 143 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,680 He gathered up my gear and my dogs and my dog, 144 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,399 and through the back of my vehicle he looked at 145 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,320 me and said be careful. So I'm getting all this 146 00:08:38,399 --> 00:08:40,480 information at the same time, I'm thinking I've got to 147 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:44,200 get light Hurst because our team has a two hour recall. 148 00:08:44,759 --> 00:08:47,399 So I firstly made it there and lesson to two 149 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:51,080 hour recall. They checked this in, grabbed their bags for 150 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:55,600 them on vehicles, and we put our dogs into the 151 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:58,200 New Jersey Transit buses along with the rest of the 152 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:03,840 team and started driving to Round zero. And as we 153 00:09:03,919 --> 00:09:07,600 got there, you could see I would say, I don't know, 154 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,039 got three close the way up the turnpike, all of 155 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,039 a sudden you could see New York and all you 156 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:16,919 saw was black smoke rising, and we're We're like, okay, 157 00:09:16,919 --> 00:09:18,879 and then we're starting. Everybody's getting reports on their cell 158 00:09:18,919 --> 00:09:22,360 phones and they get up there and our state police 159 00:09:22,399 --> 00:09:24,759 are leading our way and they're trying to figure out 160 00:09:24,759 --> 00:09:26,759 whether we're going to go over a bridge through a tunnel, 161 00:09:26,799 --> 00:09:30,720 and they closed all of those, and so we kind 162 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,399 of drove around in a circle for a little while, 163 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:35,559 trying to figure out, you know, communicating with state police 164 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,600 how we're going to get into New York. They closed 165 00:09:37,639 --> 00:09:40,960 all the accesses from New Jersey, so we finally got 166 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:48,879 in to the city and I think my most biggest memory, 167 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:53,120 biggest memory is walking down the street toward ground zero. 168 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:57,600 All the people seeing our team walk with our canines 169 00:09:57,799 --> 00:09:59,919 that we have, our you know, very red backpacks, all 170 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,879 our helmets, asking us to find their loved ones, their 171 00:10:03,919 --> 00:10:07,639 family members, worker co workers, showing us pictures. And this 172 00:10:07,879 --> 00:10:11,320 is just after lunch, well what three or four hours 173 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:15,000 after the tower cell and asking us to do what 174 00:10:15,279 --> 00:10:17,759 we can and thanking us for coming. And that was 175 00:10:17,879 --> 00:10:20,799 very overwhelming. That was very I'm sitting there, We'll get 176 00:10:20,799 --> 00:10:22,720 a thousands of these people thinking what am I going? 177 00:10:23,639 --> 00:10:26,840 I'm one person, one person. My dog's walking along with 178 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:29,159 all these people in this crowd. He's never been to 179 00:10:29,159 --> 00:10:32,440 New York City, and so he was just taking it 180 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:36,279 all in and I'm watching him and he's okay, he's excited. 181 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:40,399 I've got my gear, got my pants on, and he's public. 182 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:42,320 He's like, Okay, what am I doing? I know im 183 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:44,559 so I's be working. Where are we going? What are 184 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:47,639 we doing? You could see his and he These canines 185 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:51,240 steed off of our adrenaline. So when we're up, they're up. 186 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:54,639 When we get stressed, they can get stressed. So we 187 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:58,080 have to kind of be careful enough to feed them 188 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:01,000 too bad, and the stuff we tried, so we walked 189 00:11:01,039 --> 00:11:04,200 off and and got briefed and we'll put right to work, 190 00:11:04,399 --> 00:11:08,200 you know, especially the canon. And we stayed there till 191 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,399 probably that night, till three or four, on the campus 192 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,879 of the community college there right near ground zero, and 193 00:11:16,039 --> 00:11:18,799 they're trying to decide whether they're taking us back to 194 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,120 the Javit Center or what we're doing. And then we 195 00:11:22,159 --> 00:11:23,919 did load up and go back to the Javit Center 196 00:11:24,039 --> 00:11:27,000 to get from downtime, got reached the next morning and 197 00:11:27,039 --> 00:11:30,440 went back to ground zero, so we only got a 198 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,840 few hours of down time that night, and then we 199 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,879 split up into shifts, so we had two twelve hour shifts. 200 00:11:37,879 --> 00:11:39,399 I happened to be on the day shift and then 201 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:41,799 the other half the team is on the night shift. 202 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:43,440 Speaker 2: So how big was the team. 203 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,799 Speaker 9: We had three teams, which are supposed to be sixty 204 00:11:47,879 --> 00:11:52,679 two person teams each with each having four canons. And 205 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:57,559 I'm not sure that day exactly how many people arrived 206 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:00,399 at ground zero, but then other people who did get 207 00:12:00,399 --> 00:12:04,360 to Lakehurst immediately. Then we're transported up later that day 208 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,080 and that night, so we have, thankfully did have the 209 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:08,919 whole team there at that time that it was probably 210 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:14,360 you know, higher and eighty people maybe, and that includes planning, logistics, rescue, 211 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:17,960 medical staff. We have doctors on the team. We have 212 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,679 a veterinarian on the team. So yeah, we have the 213 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:25,120 whole well basically self sufficient, and we're supposed to be 214 00:12:25,159 --> 00:12:28,679 self sufficient for three days minimum with what we carry 215 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:29,600 in our gearbags. 216 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 2: Share with us the thoughts that you were having as 217 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:37,000 you were first approaching the site. 218 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 9: At that point, a lot of it. There was a 219 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,440 lot of smoke, still a lot of hot spot. I mean, 220 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,000 everything was hot. And I think the first time I 221 00:12:43,039 --> 00:12:47,399 saw the pile. We train on robo piles, we train 222 00:12:47,519 --> 00:12:52,480 on man made grobal piles. Sometimes we trained recycling facilities, 223 00:12:52,759 --> 00:12:55,639 and there fairly small, maybe a size of a big house. 224 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:01,279 And I looked at that at ground zero and just 225 00:13:01,399 --> 00:13:07,840 realized how enormous this fight was, and I almost questioned 226 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,320 my training. Am I ready for this? Because I looked 227 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:12,879 out over that and I'm like, where do we start? 228 00:13:13,919 --> 00:13:18,399 And then that became evident. You start the moment you 229 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:22,519 stepped under the piles, and all the firefighters, all the 230 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:26,799 rescue people were there, especially with us with the dogs, 231 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,240 kept yelling I need a dog over here, could you 232 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:33,759 check this? And we were work from one place to 233 00:13:33,799 --> 00:13:36,840 the next place to the next place, and we actually 234 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,679 had to ask them the dogs are looking for live 235 00:13:39,799 --> 00:13:43,080 human spent. Well, if you've got one hundred people standing 236 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:45,960 around a hole in the ground where they want to 237 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,639 send dogs, all those people have hot human sent dogs 238 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:55,320 and excited adremine, still human spent. So we had to 239 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:57,200 say to you back up a little bit, could you 240 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,159 let the dut settle? And we were also amazed. The 241 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,159 other thing, there was no cement. We've been training on 242 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,919 pieces of cement, and when we got there it was 243 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:11,240 all white powder and girders, you know steel, so or 244 00:14:11,399 --> 00:14:14,799 go to train you know, big slabs of cement and 245 00:14:14,919 --> 00:14:18,559 gravel and rock. They're now walking along these beams that 246 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:24,120 have nothing attached to them. And so yeah, it was 247 00:14:24,759 --> 00:14:27,279 we just basically started as say. As we got there, 248 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:30,480 we were given an area, go to work, do what 249 00:14:30,559 --> 00:14:34,200 you can find, what you can work your dog. The 250 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,159 biggest thing is we really didn't get too much of 251 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,120 our opportunity to break our dog, because every time I 252 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,440 stopped searching one area, somebody would ask me to go 253 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,039 search another area. When you're asking, they're looking for live 254 00:14:45,159 --> 00:14:48,600 people and that's a very time critical thing. 255 00:14:49,279 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 2: So what was the most difficult. 256 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 9: Part, the most typical part, I think having so much 257 00:14:58,799 --> 00:15:02,440 that we were the dog sound. Our dogs are why 258 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:07,639 find dogs and they're looking for live human sense, and 259 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:12,720 in this situation, what they were finding was not alive. 260 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:17,440 And there was an enormous amount of human scent form 261 00:15:17,519 --> 00:15:20,320 the pile with oll the rescue people and an enormous 262 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:26,879 amount of human remain in the pile. So the dogs 263 00:15:26,919 --> 00:15:32,200 did excellent. They if they found human sense that wasn't alive, 264 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,759 our live find dogs will go over check it sometimes, 265 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:40,519 Paul Wine, and then we check it out. We suggest 266 00:15:40,559 --> 00:15:42,919 that they check it. It might not be you know, it's 267 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:45,120 not live human sent because they didn't bark with their 268 00:15:45,159 --> 00:15:48,759 bark indication, but there might be something there. And then 269 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:52,159 later on they sent cadaver dogs through. I think watching 270 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:55,480 my dog and hoping that he could do the job 271 00:15:55,519 --> 00:16:01,960 by training for and not miss anybody. Know that it's 272 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:06,879 still alive and possibly somebody unconscious, possibly somebody buried, you know, 273 00:16:07,639 --> 00:16:11,080 twenty feet down. You know, if he catches spent, it's 274 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:13,399 just gonna be a little bit of stent. Hopefully he 275 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:14,840 got to the you know he could get to that 276 00:16:14,879 --> 00:16:18,120 person before they did pass away. Now there's there's old 277 00:16:18,279 --> 00:16:20,159 ports ready to your mind where you're working your dog. 278 00:16:20,519 --> 00:16:23,559 Speaker 2: So how long was your task force at the site. 279 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:28,320 Speaker 9: We hear the task one was deployed for ten days. 280 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 2: What is your most vivid memory from the experience. 281 00:16:31,399 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 9: My husband's a firefighter, My whole family go involved in 282 00:16:34,519 --> 00:16:39,000 emergency services. Walking down the street seeing all these crushed 283 00:16:39,519 --> 00:16:42,919 emergency service vehicles fill a pool for the robot lining 284 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,080 the street, knowing that the drivers and the people that 285 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,000 were in those vehicles died. You know, I know that 286 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:50,879 the first day I was asked to when they started 287 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,279 uncovering a fire truck and two part trucks in an 288 00:16:53,279 --> 00:16:56,360 ambulance to send my dog. They got it uncovered enough 289 00:16:56,399 --> 00:16:58,639 to get to it, send my dog again to see 290 00:16:58,639 --> 00:17:00,720 if he could go under it or through it or 291 00:17:00,799 --> 00:17:03,080 around it under the level, to see if they could 292 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:05,720 find anybody that maybe dob underneath the trust to keep 293 00:17:05,759 --> 00:17:08,759 them being crushed. And he came out, he did not bark, 294 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:10,720 And that was very upsetting. When you were asked to 295 00:17:10,759 --> 00:17:14,640 go by firefighters to go find other firefighters underneath emergency 296 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:18,599 service vehicles and find nobody a lot that was upsetting Alice. 297 00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:22,920 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for sharing your story, and more importantly, 298 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,279 thank you for all that you've done and continue to do, 299 00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:30,240 all that New Jersey Task Force one has done, your 300 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:33,759 dog Chebacca, and all the time and effort that you 301 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,599 put in to make a difference. Thank you to all 302 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:40,200 of you for doing that. It truly is appreciated in 303 00:17:40,279 --> 00:17:43,920 behalf of all of our listeners, all the people who 304 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,319 went through nine to eleven from a distance. Again, a 305 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:50,759 heartfelt thank you so much for everything you did. 306 00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:54,960 Speaker 9: And we thank you for taking the time to keep 307 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,119 the tubut, because that's just as important is what we do, 308 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,480 is that they understand we are out here as volunteers 309 00:18:01,519 --> 00:18:01,839 to help. 310 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,839 Speaker 2: We'll continue our nine to eleven look back with John 311 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,559 Belvardi after these messages from our sponsors. 312 00:18:08,839 --> 00:18:13,839 Speaker 3: Sit stay, We'll be right back after a short pause. Well, 313 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:20,400 for to be exact, Buster, you're telling me my dog 314 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:21,799 food products can't go on your show. 315 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 9: That's right, didn't pass one of my pet cost certified 316 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:24,920 nutrition checklists. 317 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 5: Sorry, Wayne who made these checklists? 318 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 4: Geniuses, very smart guys. 319 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,200 Speaker 5: Well it's good enough for most grocery stores. 320 00:18:30,839 --> 00:18:33,160 Speaker 4: Se cheese puffs on my shelves mayonnaise soda pop. 321 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,319 Speaker 5: No, that's because I ain't running no grocery store. Wayne, 322 00:18:36,319 --> 00:18:39,240 Your pets will get better nutrition. I guarantee dot Co 323 00:18:39,519 --> 00:18:43,759 a healthy pets. Go enter the code behave ten, behave 324 00:18:44,039 --> 00:18:47,519 the number ten and get ten percent off any order, 325 00:18:47,799 --> 00:18:55,440 no minimum at petcode dot com. 326 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 7: How would you like your business to reach out and 327 00:18:58,319 --> 00:19:01,920 invite in our audience. We have a brand new trademark 328 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,640 concept called info Seeds. Info Seeds are short, twenty second 329 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,599 seeds of information about your place of business, practice, or service. 330 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,240 We only have a limited number of slots left. For 331 00:19:12,319 --> 00:19:17,079 more information, visit petlifradio dot com click on sponsorship information. 332 00:19:17,279 --> 00:19:19,559 There you can listen to a sample of info seed 333 00:19:19,839 --> 00:19:20,799 or email. 334 00:19:20,559 --> 00:19:22,880 Speaker 3: Us at petlifradio dot com. 335 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,920 Speaker 7: Remember, only a limited number of opportunities are available. 336 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:35,119 Speaker 11: New Yore, The Glitz, the Glamor, the Exciting Mutt tropole Us, 337 00:19:35,279 --> 00:19:37,759 the spot Lane, Kittie City that Never Sleeps. 338 00:19:38,079 --> 00:19:38,880 Speaker 5: Join us each. 339 00:19:38,759 --> 00:19:42,720 Speaker 11: Week for Pets in the City with your host Diane West, 340 00:19:42,839 --> 00:19:46,160 Celebrity Pets, Fightings, hot events, and news and reviews with 341 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:49,079 the hottest movers, shakers and tail waggers in New York. 342 00:19:49,279 --> 00:19:51,279 Speaker 1: So take a bite out of a Big Apple. 343 00:19:51,039 --> 00:19:54,759 Speaker 11: With Pets in the City every week on demand only 344 00:19:54,799 --> 00:20:01,440 on Petlife Radio dot Com. 345 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 3: Let's Talk Past, Let's done, pet Talk about Life Radio, 346 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,680 Headline Radio, Hetlight Radio dot Com. 347 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:19,319 Speaker 2: Thanks, welcome back to Animal Toopia. Here on pet Life Radio, 348 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:22,680 we're going to speak with John Valvardi from PA Recovery Dogs. 349 00:20:23,039 --> 00:20:25,839 John was the assistant incident Commander for the Key nine 350 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:30,160 Recovery Task Force at the Fresh Kill Landfill on Staten 351 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:35,279 Island after the events of September eleventh, two thousand and one. John, welcome, 352 00:20:35,799 --> 00:20:38,880 tell us a little bit about your responsibilities as the 353 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:43,039 assistant incident Commander for the Key nine Recovery Task Force. 354 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:47,680 Speaker 12: Our hostilities in that role were to set up schedules 355 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,680 for figuring out what dogs and handlers were coming in, 356 00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:55,960 how they needed to be oriented to the environment. It 357 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,839 took time to get the dog used to the areas 358 00:20:59,079 --> 00:21:03,880 and also making sure that those handlers and dog teams 359 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:08,279 had housing where they were staying, what shifts they would 360 00:21:08,319 --> 00:21:11,160 be working, who they would be working with. We had 361 00:21:11,759 --> 00:21:14,240 a lot of volunteers from the New York Hires Department 362 00:21:14,319 --> 00:21:17,440 come up and we had to coordinate with them as 363 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:20,599 to what teams they would be working with and what 364 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,039 their role would be with the landfill as well as 365 00:21:24,079 --> 00:21:26,480 coordinating with the FBI and LPV. 366 00:21:27,079 --> 00:21:30,400 Speaker 2: Tell us about how the dogs and the teams approached 367 00:21:30,519 --> 00:21:31,160 each area. 368 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:37,960 Speaker 12: Well, what was occurring was approximately every twenty minutes. The 369 00:21:38,039 --> 00:21:40,880 area was pretty large. I'd say it was probably close 370 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:45,079 to seventy five yards wide by about seventy five yards deep, 371 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:49,960 and a tractor trailer with a load of debris would 372 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:53,720 come in and dump in a straight line one pile 373 00:21:53,759 --> 00:21:57,039 of debris and there were probably at any time three 374 00:21:57,079 --> 00:22:00,480 to four piles going and every twenty miss those would 375 00:22:00,519 --> 00:22:03,480 be rotated, meaning once it was searched by the dogs, 376 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,200 then a bulldozer would come and take that debris away 377 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:11,039 and you know, push it off in the landfill. If 378 00:22:11,039 --> 00:22:15,599 a dog was working the area and alerted to a 379 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,799 certain portion of the debris, then what would happen was 380 00:22:19,839 --> 00:22:22,759 we were trying narrow down the area. If we needed 381 00:22:22,759 --> 00:22:25,519 heavy equipments come in to pull some of the debris apart, 382 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,960 that would be done and then we would hopefully make 383 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:29,400 a find. 384 00:22:29,839 --> 00:22:32,440 Speaker 2: When you would make a find, what was the process 385 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:33,200 for that? 386 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:35,599 Speaker 12: That would get brought back to the command tent and 387 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:40,720 then get transferred over to the forensics department for Nypday. 388 00:22:41,039 --> 00:22:44,160 Speaker 2: Now, obviously the dog safety is at the foremost mind 389 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,240 of the handlers, but this had to be an incredibly 390 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:52,640 challenging experience because of so much debris and so much 391 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,519 potential for injury. How did you handle that? 392 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,359 Speaker 12: It was a very dangerous environment at first when we 393 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,920 got up there. You know, everyone was in taiveak and 394 00:23:02,559 --> 00:23:07,400 with breathing masks and everything else. The dogs were in 395 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,240 booties for the most part. The majority of the dogs 396 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:16,519 safety is ultimately left up to the handler's discussion as 397 00:23:16,599 --> 00:23:19,000 to how they work their dog, whether it beyond lead 398 00:23:19,039 --> 00:23:23,200 or off lead. We also were adamant about having decon 399 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:27,759 after every shift that the dogs worked, that they would 400 00:23:27,759 --> 00:23:30,200 get decon, and we were lucky enough to have a 401 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:34,000 Animal Planet had their Animal Plant Rescue truck their tractor 402 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,880 trailer up there, which we had a veterinarian on site 403 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,359 being able to give a full decon to the dogs 404 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:40,519 when they were finished working. 405 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:42,680 Speaker 2: What was it like for you and the dogs when 406 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:44,680 you first got to the site. 407 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 12: Getting up there and all the bells going on, walking 408 00:23:50,039 --> 00:23:53,279 around and seeing all these alien looking people in these 409 00:23:53,599 --> 00:23:56,680 big white taivex suits with their masks on and their 410 00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:59,359 big rakes in their hand and all this debris. It 411 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:01,920 was kind of because we got up there in the 412 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,400 evening on the sixteenth, It was early evening and right 413 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,559 after a night had fallen, So with all the trucks 414 00:24:08,599 --> 00:24:12,720 moving and all the debris and the odor, and the 415 00:24:12,759 --> 00:24:15,680 people walking around in all the suits, it was it 416 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:16,880 was pretty shocking for a while. 417 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:17,440 Speaker 9: The dogs. 418 00:24:17,799 --> 00:24:20,559 Speaker 2: When you reflect back, how did the teams and their 419 00:24:20,599 --> 00:24:21,119 dogs do. 420 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,799 Speaker 12: The dogs that were up in the landfill did a 421 00:24:24,799 --> 00:24:29,200 phenomenal job. For the amount of hours they worked to 422 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:33,279 be able to bring the remains back to hopefully get 423 00:24:33,319 --> 00:24:37,079 identified and to be put with a family, to be buried, 424 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,200 to give someone some little bit of closure for their 425 00:24:40,319 --> 00:24:43,720 level one who was lost, is phenomenal. I couldn't be 426 00:24:43,759 --> 00:24:45,440 proud of the work that was done up there. 427 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 10: John. 428 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,599 Speaker 2: As you reflect back, what would you say was the 429 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:50,759 hardest part of that entire experience. 430 00:24:51,119 --> 00:24:57,039 Speaker 12: The hardest part was probably just seeing some large pieces 431 00:24:57,079 --> 00:25:00,640 of human remains that were just laying out there, or 432 00:25:00,759 --> 00:25:05,400 just seeing different items of clothing or different different identifying 433 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:10,279 items that we knew definitely belonged to someone. It's much 434 00:25:10,319 --> 00:25:14,359 different than if we were working a homicide case and 435 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,960 looking for a burial as opposed to working in that 436 00:25:18,039 --> 00:25:22,079 kind of wreckage and just having human remains all over 437 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:22,480 the place. 438 00:25:22,759 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 2: John, thank you so much for all that you and 439 00:25:24,799 --> 00:25:27,359 your teams have done, and thank you for joining and 440 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:28,720 sharing with us. 441 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:30,480 Speaker 12: Thank you very much. I appreciate you. 442 00:25:30,559 --> 00:25:31,960 Speaker 6: Speak with you joining. 443 00:25:31,759 --> 00:25:35,799 Speaker 2: Us now, also via phone is noted author Nonah Kilgore Bauer. 444 00:25:36,279 --> 00:25:39,720 She is the author of the incredible book Hero Dogs 445 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:44,519 of September eleventh, a tribute to America's search and rescue dogs. Nona, 446 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,960 thank you for joining us. You know, as I look 447 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,359 at the book and I read the stories, they're also touching. 448 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:55,319 They're also inspiring when you look at the totality of 449 00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:57,759 the book. How do you describe the book? 450 00:25:58,319 --> 00:26:03,160 Speaker 8: I guess complete of sadness and desperation, but at the 451 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:09,720 same time of courage and bravery and tenacity, the attributes 452 00:26:09,839 --> 00:26:14,640 that we don't normally connect with the canines. On the 453 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:19,200 fact that these dogs and their brave handlers, the jobs 454 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,559 they did with their dogs were so remarkable and something 455 00:26:23,599 --> 00:26:27,480 that the average American could never possibly imagine. I think 456 00:26:27,519 --> 00:26:29,319 that was a sense that I got it the whole thing. 457 00:26:29,799 --> 00:26:33,480 Speaker 2: No, no, what did you learn most while researching and 458 00:26:33,519 --> 00:26:34,640 writing this book. 459 00:26:35,039 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 8: I think what really I found so awesome and it 460 00:26:39,759 --> 00:26:44,079 really blew me away, was the complete dedication of these handlers. 461 00:26:44,839 --> 00:26:48,920 They dedicate their entire lives to their mission of search 462 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:53,000 and rescue. They sometimes at their own expense. They can 463 00:26:53,079 --> 00:26:56,200 spend up to three thousand dollars on their equipment. Their 464 00:26:56,240 --> 00:27:00,559 travel expenses to training missions and testing sites is at 465 00:27:00,559 --> 00:27:04,079 their own expense. They trained two three days a week, 466 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,880 a little bit with their own dog every day. They 467 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:09,640 train with groups two or three days a week, and 468 00:27:09,839 --> 00:27:12,839 two weekends a month. They go on training meets, and 469 00:27:13,319 --> 00:27:19,759 they miss ballet recitals, piano recitals, soccer games, family dinners, 470 00:27:19,799 --> 00:27:22,759 so their family sacrifice as well. It's really a total 471 00:27:22,799 --> 00:27:26,200 family effort. That's what I never knew, and that's what 472 00:27:26,279 --> 00:27:29,440 people need to understand about the world of search and rescue. 473 00:27:29,799 --> 00:27:33,799 These people are totally dedicated. This job does not come easy, 474 00:27:34,079 --> 00:27:39,119 and that accomplishment does not come easily. It's their life, 475 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:40,960 and that's something I did not know. 476 00:27:41,039 --> 00:27:43,319 Speaker 12: I had no idea before I wrote this book. 477 00:27:43,799 --> 00:27:46,759 Speaker 2: No, no, were you surprised as you were gathering the 478 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:48,799 information about these dogs' efforts. 479 00:27:49,319 --> 00:27:53,960 Speaker 8: So I really wasn't surprised because after breading retrievers for 480 00:27:54,039 --> 00:27:58,200 thirty years and training dogs, I know how brilliant they are. 481 00:27:58,559 --> 00:28:03,160 I know the skills are capable of accomplishing. So I 482 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,799 really wasn't surprised at them. I just did not I 483 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:10,599 wasn't familiar with the landscape on which they perform and train. 484 00:28:11,279 --> 00:28:15,720 But I wasn't surprised at all because the canine is 485 00:28:15,759 --> 00:28:20,400 God's greatest gift to humanity. That's simply something I've always believed, 486 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:26,079 and I am just always not surprised, but always thrilled 487 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,720 to know about one more thing they have done and 488 00:28:29,799 --> 00:28:33,759 accomplished in this really complicated human world. 489 00:28:34,319 --> 00:28:37,079 Speaker 2: Is there a particular story that really stands out to you. 490 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,359 Speaker 8: The one that really struck me from the very beginning 491 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,640 in the writing of the book. Mister Simmer was a 492 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:49,160 firefighter from New Jersey Task Force Sunny Weinman was his name, 493 00:28:49,279 --> 00:28:52,319 and he had a German shepherd named Piper. They were 494 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:56,039 at ground zero four hours after the attacks. They were 495 00:28:56,039 --> 00:28:59,599 one of the first four task forces to arrive at 496 00:28:59,599 --> 00:29:04,480 the sea and his description of how when Piper just 497 00:29:04,839 --> 00:29:08,519 barely put his nose to the ground just sniffed at 498 00:29:08,519 --> 00:29:12,920 a certain spot a dozen firefighters would be all over him, 499 00:29:13,359 --> 00:29:17,119 digging with their bare hands, trying to find one of 500 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:22,200 their fallen brothers. It was that's when the desperation sadness 501 00:29:22,279 --> 00:29:27,559 really struck him. And that is when this desperation sadness 502 00:29:27,599 --> 00:29:32,000 reached me as well, given his story, because that picture 503 00:29:32,119 --> 00:29:35,799 is burned in my brain. It was I think typical 504 00:29:35,839 --> 00:29:38,799 of what was going on all over Ground zero, with 505 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:42,559 every search and rescue handler and all the firefighters around them. 506 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,440 Speaker 2: Tell us about the new edition of the book and 507 00:29:45,519 --> 00:29:47,680 why there was a need to do a new edition 508 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:48,160 of the book. 509 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:52,599 Speaker 8: My publisher, an editor and I just agreed that it 510 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:57,720 was time to not reinvent the book because this tenth 511 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:02,079 anniversary edition is this. It contains all the same material. 512 00:30:02,119 --> 00:30:06,039 It's been reformatted and redesigned a little bit, but we 513 00:30:06,119 --> 00:30:09,119 have added one hundred pages of new material about things 514 00:30:09,119 --> 00:30:12,759 that were not covered in the first edition and things 515 00:30:12,759 --> 00:30:15,640 that are a little more current because of the events 516 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:20,200 going on today. But the mission of the book, mister Simmo, 517 00:30:20,319 --> 00:30:23,960 is to make sure people recognize and honor the work 518 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,039 that these dogs did, because without the search and rescue dogs, 519 00:30:28,079 --> 00:30:31,440 there would literally be many hundreds of families that would 520 00:30:31,519 --> 00:30:34,640 not have had their friends and loved ones to bury, 521 00:30:34,759 --> 00:30:39,039 and American needs to know that. And that's the mission 522 00:30:39,039 --> 00:30:39,720 that I'm. 523 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:41,039 Speaker 12: Stilling with that book. 524 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 8: And so we felt that a tenth universary edition was appropriate, 525 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,880 very appropriate to mark the tenth university of nine to eleven. 526 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:53,200 What we have in this book is we have a 527 00:30:53,319 --> 00:30:57,039 chapter on the therapy dogs that worked at the three 528 00:30:57,119 --> 00:31:00,480 Family Assistant Centers. They were there to come for the 529 00:31:00,519 --> 00:31:05,039 families of the victims that were waiting for word if 530 00:31:05,079 --> 00:31:08,519 their loved one had been found. And their stories are 531 00:31:08,559 --> 00:31:13,799 incredibly touching because these were trained therapy dogs, trained to 532 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:18,920 respond to human emotions and their sense of how these 533 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:23,759 people felt and what drew them to various individuals, and 534 00:31:23,799 --> 00:31:27,240 how those people thanked to their knees and hugged and 535 00:31:27,319 --> 00:31:33,200 cried hugging the dogs is so poignant, it's really viscual. 536 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,519 That we also have a chapter on the bomb dogs, 537 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:44,839 the dogs that are trained to detect the explosive devices. 538 00:31:45,519 --> 00:31:48,799 And these dogs are trained to do that, then they 539 00:31:48,799 --> 00:31:52,680 are paired with marines who and soldiers who are then 540 00:31:52,839 --> 00:31:55,640 trained to work with the dogs, and they go off 541 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:59,960 to Afghanistan and the dogs are saving hundreds of military 542 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:04,039 lives over there because they can sniff out these very 543 00:32:04,119 --> 00:32:10,039 minute odors that would blow up a tank. And that's 544 00:32:10,079 --> 00:32:12,960 the direct result of nine to eleven. And so I 545 00:32:13,079 --> 00:32:15,960 believe that those dogs needed to be included, because those 546 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,920 dogs and those marines are equally as great hero as 547 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:24,480 our nine to eleven people. So I just I'd still 548 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:26,880 be writing. I could find more heroes to write about, 549 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:29,640 but eventually you have to wrap up a book. The 550 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:35,000 one thing I really wanted to emphasize that I neglected 551 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:39,359 to mention earlier was the dual role that the dogs 552 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:44,319 played at Ground zero and even at the Pentagon. Now, 553 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:48,440 these dogs are trained to do the search work, and 554 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,960 then they had downtime. They'd be on the pile for 555 00:32:51,039 --> 00:32:53,039 half an hour, and then they'd be off the pile 556 00:32:53,119 --> 00:32:58,480 for a rest period, and during their downtime they became 557 00:32:58,599 --> 00:33:03,240 therapy dogs themselves. The firefighters and the rescue workers would 558 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,359 come over to the dogs and hug them and ped 559 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:09,480 them and crayon them, just like people did with the 560 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:15,480 therapy dogs at the family Assistance centers. And in many cases, amazingly, 561 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:19,839 the dogs would seek out a certain person. They might 562 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:24,160 spot up firefighters sitting, you know, propped up against the 563 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:26,839 wall with his head, you know, in his arms, just 564 00:33:27,599 --> 00:33:32,279 exhausted and depressed, and the dogs would go over and 565 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:36,920 lay their head right on that guy's land, and those 566 00:33:37,039 --> 00:33:43,319 kinds of scenes, that kind of ability, those sensitivities, and 567 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,640 that's another amazing contribution that the dogs provided to the 568 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:49,200 nine to eleven rescue effort, that they were able to 569 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:53,519 comfort as well as search, right, And how awesome is that? 570 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:57,880 Speaker 2: It's incredible? And you know, we all think we know 571 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:02,319 what animals are capable, especially our dogs, yet often we 572 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,519 forget what they truly can bring to this world. 573 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:08,679 Speaker 8: Yeah, and we know they have that ability, but we're 574 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:13,360 not always able to show it or display it or 575 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,199 find an example of it. And here during nine to 576 00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:19,519 eleven we had hundreds of examples of that. 577 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:20,559 Speaker 10: You know. 578 00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:25,280 Speaker 8: That was the epitome of the dog in every respect possible. 579 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:28,960 Speaker 2: I think one of the interesting side stories, if you will, 580 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:33,800 of nine to eleven was that amongst the tragedy and 581 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:38,239 the sadness and the sorrow, there came a point where 582 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:42,400 we turn things around where we said we're gonna get 583 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:47,519 through this, and we're gonna come out stronger, better, and 584 00:34:47,599 --> 00:34:52,000 we're gonna do things in a different way and I 585 00:34:52,039 --> 00:34:54,840 think certainly that was led by the humans, but it 586 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:58,639 was also propelled and inspired by the animals that were 587 00:34:58,679 --> 00:35:03,239 there side by side with the humans. Did you get 588 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:04,400 a sense for that as well. 589 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:08,719 Speaker 8: You know, I would agree with that because the dogs 590 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:14,760 spirits never sagged, and the dogs are willing to work indefinitely, 591 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:19,559 you know, so they were I believe in inspiration that 592 00:35:20,239 --> 00:35:23,800 they will go on and continue and that we have 593 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:28,039 to do. Likewise, in so many cases, the dogs would 594 00:35:28,079 --> 00:35:33,360 go to the veterinary Medical Assistance tent to be after 595 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:37,400 every every turn on the pile, after each search mission, 596 00:35:38,159 --> 00:35:42,119 they went to the veterinary tent for care. There had 597 00:35:42,199 --> 00:35:46,559 total body shampoos, Their ears were flushed, their eyes were flushed, 598 00:35:46,559 --> 00:35:52,920 their paws were put into an anti bacterial dip to 599 00:35:53,039 --> 00:35:56,280 cleanse them. So dogs were very well taken care of. 600 00:35:56,880 --> 00:35:59,960 And or if the dog is perhaps being treated for 601 00:36:00,159 --> 00:36:04,039 a cutpaw or a little bit of a burn, those 602 00:36:04,119 --> 00:36:07,079 dogs throughout that we're tugging at the least to go 603 00:36:07,239 --> 00:36:11,480 back and work. They didn't want to stop. That inspired people, 604 00:36:11,639 --> 00:36:14,599 inspires people to go on. I think the spear of 605 00:36:14,599 --> 00:36:16,719 the dog is an inspiration. I agree with you one 606 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:17,480 hundred percent. 607 00:36:18,519 --> 00:36:22,760 Speaker 2: Nona Thank you so much for capturing these incredible efforts 608 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,199 by these amazing animals. Thank you for the book, thank 609 00:36:26,199 --> 00:36:28,840 you for the many books you've written, thank you for 610 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:32,800 joining us, and I really am honored that you were 611 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:36,079 on the show today. Thank you so much, Thank you, thank. 612 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:40,079 Speaker 8: You for having me, and thank you for helping to 613 00:36:40,079 --> 00:36:44,000 promote the search and rescue dogs that serve during nine 614 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:47,079 to eleven and continue to serve. So we thank you too. 615 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:49,760 Speaker 2: I also want to thank Abby from the Finding One 616 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:53,960 Another organization. This organization is doing a lot of great work. 617 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:57,000 I'd urge you to visit their site at Finding one 618 00:36:57,039 --> 00:36:59,960 Another dot org. I also want to share one last 619 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:02,480 thing that all of the search and rescue teams, the 620 00:37:02,559 --> 00:37:06,679 working dog teams, the Finding One Another Organization, and NONAH 621 00:37:06,719 --> 00:37:09,320 all stressed to me the efforts by the search and 622 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:12,719 rescue and work teams are labor of love. These wonderful 623 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:16,239 people and their amazing dogs have a tremendous amount of dedication. 624 00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:20,639 They spend an unbelievable amount of time, money, and effort 625 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:23,039 to make sure that there is hope in times of 626 00:37:23,079 --> 00:37:27,039 tragedy and need. Sadly, there are too few search and 627 00:37:27,079 --> 00:37:30,639 rescue teams since most are privately funded and require a 628 00:37:30,719 --> 00:37:34,679 huge commitment. The resources are stretched thinner each day. I 629 00:37:34,679 --> 00:37:36,840 would urge all of you to think about some way 630 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:39,400 that you can help their efforts, even if it's with 631 00:37:39,519 --> 00:37:43,440 a thank you and some appreciated encouragement. Nine to eleven 632 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:46,960 was a tragedy. We miss all those who perished. I 633 00:37:47,119 --> 00:37:50,159 end the show by again saying thank you to all 634 00:37:50,199 --> 00:37:53,119 of you who served in this nation's critical time of need. 635 00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:57,760 We do appreciate you for Animal toopia, pet Life Radio, 636 00:37:58,159 --> 00:38:01,119 and all those who made this show possible. Today, I 637 00:38:01,199 --> 00:38:03,719 humbly say thank you, and I look forward to our 638 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:05,920 next adventure in animal Topia. 639 00:38:06,599 --> 00:38:11,679 Speaker 3: Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on petlfradio 640 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:25,079 dot com