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HELPING EACH OTHER TO HEAL

© Joy Butler

Never underestimate the healing power of a pet's unconditional love. Research has long borne out that deep, loving relationships promote better health and longevity. Accepted by the medical community, as well, is the idea that pets play a role in reducing stress, high blood pressure and cholesterol. One University of Bonn psychologist concluded from her studies that children who had suffered a traumatic experience were shown to be less aggressive a year later, if they had a dog, and that a loyal dog reduced loneliness and brought security and stability to life. Never has this been more vividly demonstrated than in the past weeks at the World Trade Center disaster area.

CNN Headline News ran a short segment about the WTC search dogs and introduced another type of dogs that has been brought in to lift morale among rescue workers, who fight fatigue and discouragement in the midst of twisted beams, shards of glass, burnt flesh, and collapsing structures. These "trauma dogs" are specially trained to home in on trauma victims and to offer the support that only a soft doggy shoulder and a slurpy kiss can offer.

Despite incredible exhaustion and sadness, an invisible bond between dog and handler seems to drive them on. Search teams press on over jagged steel, powdered concrete, and broken glass and crawl on their bellies in tight spaces, through heat, smoke and dust. At one point, something gave way in the rubble, and a Belgian Malinois search dog called "Wuss" tumbled down 20 feet, face first into a pit of powdered concrete and glass. Rescuers sprang to action! Suffocating and his tongue turning blue, Wuss was carried to a firetruck and given oxygen, then transported, screaming sirens and all, to an animal hospital three miles away where he quickly stabilized. Returning to the disaster site, his handler attempted to resume the search alone, yet, in spite of his traumatic experience, Wuss would not be left behind. With tail-wagging determination, he joined his handler, once again, in the wreckage.

Another Golden Retriever named Cody was one of the first search dogs on site and located three bodies in thirty minutes on September 12th. He stumbled and crawled his way through the rubble for many hours, continuing with the search until he was so exhausted he stopped in his tracks at the end of the shift, on the way back to the train that would take them home. Finally making it to the train, dog and handler, each an inspiration to the other, slept all the way back to Long Island.

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