Dog Art Today

Thank You 9/11 Comfort Dogs

Written by

Moira McLaughlin

in

9_11_comfort_dog

Photo by Ira Block © National Geographic 2002

From National Geographic:

The lesser known of New York’s canine heroes, comfort dogs, such as this golden retriever, help soothe those affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Similar to search-and-rescue dogs, comfort dogs travel to disaster scenes to aid relief efforts. Studies show that people experience physiological changes—such as a drop in heart rate and blood pressure—when they pet animals.

Thank you to all the brave heroes, canine and human, who sacrificed themselves on that tragic day.

Comments

4 responses to “Thank You 9/11 Comfort Dogs”

  1. WendyB Avatar
    WendyB

    Lovely.

    Reply
  2. Red Baron Avatar
    Red Baron

    9/11 responders are dying because the White House, EPA, and Giuliani lied! In order to “reopen Wall Street” the Bush administration censored crucial EPA and New York City Health Department warnings that the air at the WTC site after 9/11 was highly poisonous. The White House forced the EPA to say “The air is safe to breathe” at the World Trade Center. This has seriously injured the health of Manhattan workers and residents, and is even killing the heroes who worked at “Ground Zero.” Out of the 20,000 workers tested, 70% are reported to have respiratory problems while many dogs that worked at ground zero continue to die from mysterious cancers that are said to be unrelated.

    Reply
  3. Kathleen Avatar
    Kathleen

    One of the most amazing 9/11 stories I remember reading was in the Bearded Collie newsletter. A family was driving either into the city for vacation or out (I can’t remember) when the first plane hit. Their Bearded Collie was with them Beardie’s can’t stand loud noise. In the confusion the dog panicked and ran straight toward the towers. Somehow it managed to get to the area where boats were ferrying people away from the Wall Street area. It hoped on board a boat and became a comfort dog for the rest of the day. By the end of the day he was also reunited with the family who thought he was probably gone for good.

    Reply
  4. Moira Avatar
    Moira

    Kathleen – Incredible story! I can totally picture your sweet Beardie doing that.
    Red Baron – I remember when they were saying the air was “safe” and it looked like toxic soup. It was horrifying.

    Reply

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