Salty’s Story
Salty, a Labrador retriever trained by Guiding Eyes for the Blind in New York, had been working with Omar Rivera since 1998. On 9/11, Rivera was on the 71st floor of Tower 1 when the first plane hit. Despite the chaos, Salty refused to leave his side. Together with Rivera’s supervisor, Donna Enright, the dog helped guide him down dozens of flights of stairs and out of the building before it came down. Salty continued working for several more years before passing away in 2008.
Roselle’s Story
Roselle, also a Labrador retriever, was under Michael Hingson’s desk on the 78th floor of Tower 1 when the impact occurred some fifteen floors above them. She quickly guided Hingson to stairwell B, leading not just him but also around 30 other people down 1,463 steps. Along the way, they passed firefighters heading up the stairs, and once they reached the street, Tower 2 collapsed behind them. Roselle then helped lead her owner into a subway station for shelter.
Roselle lived until 2011 and was later the subject of the book Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero, which became a New York Times Bestseller.
Recognition and Legacy
For their bravery, Salty and Roselle were jointly awarded the Dickin Medal in 2002 by the UK’s People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, often referred to as the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. Their citation recognized their loyalty and courage in leading their owners down more than 70 floors to safety.
The two dogs were also honored with awards from Guiding Eyes for the Blind and the British Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Roselle was posthumously named American Hero Dog of the Year in 2011 by the American Humane Society, after receiving more than 400,000 public votes.
Their stories have continued to inspire through books, media appearances, and even music. Both dogs stand as reminders not just of the human tragedy of 9/11, but also of the extraordinary trust and bond between service animals and their handlers.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)