Abby Connolly
There is no doubt that dogs are magnificent creatures, many of whom have been declared heroes in America.
Not only are there spectacular and wise dogs out in society serving our police and fire departments, but there are also amazing pups helping every day people live their lives with ease and safety by working as service dogs.
If you love stories of dogs who have saved their owners in dire situations, you should know the story of Michael Hingson and his guide dog, Roselle, who saved his life on 9/11.
On September 11th, 2001, Michael Hingson was working on the 78th floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center. He was getting ready for another day at work when he suddenly found himself living in one of the darkest days in history.
When the first plane hit the North Tower, Michael, who had been blind since he was an infant, found himself in a nightmare but couldn’t see what was going on. His colleague David Frank reportedly told him about the smoke and flames he could see from their office windows and informed him they needed to evacuate as soon as possible.
Although Michael had a thorough knowledge of the World Trade Center’s safety procedures, as a blind man, trying to escape the fiery, unstable building on his own may have been impossible.
Thankfully, he had his guide dog and faithful companion, Roselle, with him. Roselle was a Yellow Labrador Retriever who managed to stay calm and used the queues around her to get Michael out of the building just in time safely.
However, it certainly was no easy feat. Because Michael and Roselle knew it wasn’t safe enough to get in the North Tower’s elevators, they began going down the stairs to the lobby of the World Trade Center with a group of colleagues.
Roselle led Michael down over 1,400 stairs, making way for rescue workers, burn victims, etc. There were moments when the descent seemed too intense, but Michael, Roselle, and the other group members pushed forward.
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