Canine Heroine Roselle ...
Guided Owner Safely from WTC
By Laura Barmore

On that fateful Tuesday, September 11, 2001, during the early business hours, Roselle was doing what most Labrador Retrievers like to do: taking a morning nap. Roselle, Michael Hingsons three year old yellow Lab Guide Dog, was sleeping peacefully under Michaels desk. She had already commuted into New York from Michaels residence in Westfield, New Jersey. Her day had started at 6:30 a.m. and had already required her to take a bus, two trains, and an elevator ride to Michaels office. Thus, she was quite content to rest a bit while Michael prepared for what was expected to be a busy morning. However, neither Michael nor Roselle had any idea of the extraordinary events that lay ahead.

Michael, who has been blind since birth, was district sales manager for the computer company Quantum ATL. That morning, fifty people were scheduled to visit Quantum Inc.s office for training seminars.

At 8:45 a.m., while Michael was preparing for the presentations, I heard a loud noise like a bump and then a lot of shaking. It was worse than any earthquake Ive ever experienced, he said. Michael, now 53, grew up in Palmdale, California, on top of the fault, and had experienced the Northridge earthquake that struck the state in 1994, among others.

The building started swaying, and the air outside my window was filled with smoke, fire, paper, and the smell of kerosene, he said. The plane had struck 15 floors above him. Michael knew something serious had happened, and his first thoughts were to call his wife and then make sure everyone in the office, especially the visitors got out safely. An office colleague told Michael that a fire was burning above them and Michael could hear debris falling. Michael called Roselle, and immediately Roselle went from a deep sleep into action, guiding Michael through the disheveled building and to the stairwell as they began their seventy-eight floor descent. Neither of them knew the degree to which their trust was about to be tested, as they depended on each other to jointly descend down the long stairwell.

At about the 68th floor, Michael and Roselle had to step aside so other tenants could lead a badly burned woman down the stairs. The smell of jet fuel was unmistakable, and only then did Michael begin to understand the gravity of the situation. As Michael said later, "even so, we had no idea when the second jet struck Tower Two. We learned how bad things really were only after both towers fell." Attempting humor during the long descent, Michael recalls telling companions, What a great way to lose weight by going down these stairs. We should do it more often."

Michael and Roselle were at about the 30th floor when they first encountered a fireman. The firemen were cheered and patted on their backs as they hurried up the stairs. The firemen petted Roselle, who in turn, gave them kisses. Those kisses, Hingson said, could have been the last acts of affection the ill-fated firemen received.

At the 25th floor, Roselle and Michael shared a drink as cold bottles of water began to be handed up from below.

It took roughly 45 minutes to reach the Tower One lobby, where Roselle and Michael had to go through a lot of debris. Water was gushing from a sprinkler system that had been triggered by fireballs exploding in the elevator shafts. It had become very hard to breathe, he said. We were both very hot and tired. Roselle was panting and wanted to drink the water that was pooled on the floor.

One hour after the attack, Michael and Roselle were finally outside of the World Trade Center. They got about two blocks away when Tower Two started to collapse. Michael said he felt a vibration, and then he heard the deafening crash. It sounded like a metal and concrete waterfall, he said. We started running for the subway. Roselle remained focused on her work and Michael kept his commands simple. They had to go through a lot of falling glass and a lot of other kind of debris. When they got out of the subway, and a couple of blocks further, Tower 1 toppled, showering them with ash.

Roselle guided Michael to the home of a friend in midtown Manhattan where they stayed until trains were running again. Michael and Roselle were able to finally return home at 7 p.m.

In March, Roselle was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal in New York City. The Medal is recognized worldwide as "the animals' Victoria Cross" in American terms, the animal equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor. She received her PDSA Dickin Medal for her devotion to duty.

The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted by PDSAs founder, Maria Dickin, to recognize animals that displayed conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty while serving with the Armed Forces or Civil Defense units during World War II and its aftermath.

Roselle was also honored by the Hartz Mountain Corporation at the inaugural Heroes of Hartz award dinner on May 2, 2002 for the remarkable valor and teamwork that she and Michael displayed on September 11, 2001. Hartz donated $20,000.00 to the Guide Dogs for the blind in Roselles and Michaels name. At the ceremony Bob Devine, President and CEO of the Hartz Mountain Corporation, stated that Mike and Roselle are emblematic of the special relationship that exists between humans and their animal partners, and we [at Hartz] are proud to recognize this special human-animal bond." Roselle and Michael were also honored by the North Shore Animal League this past January.

In February, Michael resigned from Quantum Inc. to become a national spokesman for Guide Dogs for the Blind. He and his wife, Karen and Roselle moved from New Jersey to Marin County, California where Guide Dogs for the Blind is based. Michael has been a user of Guide Dogs for the Blind for 37 years, with Roselle being his fifth guide dog.

When asked about his thoughts now a year later, Michael stated, 911 was a defining moment in all of our lives. It gave us a day to make choices, on how to live collectively and work together. It also proved the value of the animal-human bond.

All Labs would like to honor Roselle, our special Lab of the Month, and an inspiring symbol of trust. In their partnership, Roselle trusts Michael to give her the right commands, while he trusts her to make the process work. Trust, something so dear that has eroded away in America, is so wonderfully displayed in this beautiful Labrador. You can see Roselle and Michael live, on September 11, 2002 at 9 a.m. Eastern time on Larry King Live. Michael and Roselle will also be at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, that afternoon around 2 p.m. delivering the keynote address.


























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