AKC leads the pack with assistance for search dogs and handlers at WTC site
By Norma Bennett Woolf
The nation and the world watched in shock and horror on September 11 as the
second airliner slammed into the World Trade Center and the Twin Towers collapsed
into rubble. In a few minutes, the incomprehensible had happened: America was
attacked on our own soil and thousands of people died for a “crime”
no more heinous than reporting for work on a sunny Tuesday morning.
The response to this monstrous act showed the world what Americans are made
of. Thousands of police officers, firemen, paramedics, and other trained rescue
workers from around the country poured into Manhattan to help. Red Cross workers
and ordinary citizens served coffee and donuts, carried supplies to rescuers,
lit candles, held silent vigils, and stood by and thanked those who put their
lives on the line in the search for survivors and bodies.
Search and rescue teams included dozens of dogs trained to locate both living
and dead victims of disasters. Hour after hour, day after day, the dogs worked,
often crawling into spaces too small for a man. Day after day, they persisted
in spite of smoke, air-borne debris, cut paws, fatigue, and even broken bones.
Some dogs and handlers went home, injured or exhausted; others arrived to take
their place.
Enter AKC
The American Kennel Club has its headquarters in Manhattan. Soon after the
murderous attack, company president Al Cheauré announced two AKC initiatives
in conjunction with the registry’s Companion Animal Recovery program: a
fund to assist in the care of search and rescue dogs and a fund to assist the
human victims. Each account received $50,000 in start-up money, half from AKC
and half from AKC/CAR.
In addition, AKC contacted several pet supply companies, including Iams, Purina,
Pedigree, Cherrybrook, Sherpa’s Pet Trading Company, and Pet Dreams and
worked with New York City agencies to assure that the supplies were available
when needed. A few days later, Alpo joined the effort to provide food and supplies
for the dogs working from dawn until dusk to find disaster victims.
AKC/CAR also donated enrollments for the 300 microchip kits donated by Schering
Plough Animal Health for pets that lost their homes in the raid.
On September 16, AKC learned that two search and rescue dogs had fallen through
the rubble into craters at the disaster site and a portable x-ray machine was
needed to check for injuries. Within a few hours, AKC located, purchased, and
donated a machine to the search and rescue unit.
“I heard the plea on CBS radio news Sunday evening and began calling veterinarians
to locate a unit,” said Dennis Sprung, AKC vice president of corporate
relations. After several calls, Sprung located a machine in Maryland and “bought
it on the spot.” The dealer was able to get the machine to Princeton, New
Jersey, Monday morning, and the dog fancy took over from there.
“Dog people were great,” Sprung said.
A friend put a plea on Internet chat lists for someone to get the unit in Princeton
and transport it to NY. Sprung gave permission to list his home phone number
and the calls began to pour in – all night. When the transport was set,
Sprung called his police department contact to tell them the machine was on
the way and asked how to get it to the dogs that needed it. “Make your
way to 11th Avenue,” he was told, “and we’ll meet you there with
an escort.”
Sprung said he then arranged a rendezvous at the Lincoln Tunnel with the person
who brought the unit from New Jersey and they worked their way to 11th Avenue,
met the escort, and delivered the portable x-ray and accessories to the police
command post in the heart of the disaster area.
A few days later, Sprung learned that a police dog handler had been charged
for veterinary services at the Animal Medical Center. He told the police officer
that AKC would take care of the bill, then called a breeder-exhibitor who is
a member of the veterinary hospital board. The result of their conversation
was a complete underwriting of care for police and other search dogs by the
fancier and his wife.
Throughout the aftermath of the attack, Sprung stayed in touch with both New
York police and the Suffolk County SPCA, the agency that provided on-scene care
for the dogs in a mobile surgical suite. The official emergency animal agency,
the SC SPCA came to the site at the request of the federal government, the New
York City Office of Emergency Management, and the Veterinary Medical Assistance
Team, the federal veterinary disaster unit run by the US Public Health Administration
to coordinate veterinary services inside the perimeter of the crime scene.*
The society’s veterinary MASH unit arrived at 6 p.m. on September 11, and
its veterinarians and technicians became available to treat dogs 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. Sprung coordinated AKC efforts with the SCSPCA chief
of detectives to make sure that they had the supplies they needed for the dogs.
The donations
Sprung said that the AKC humanitarian fund raised $60,000 for the Red Cross
and the dog fund raised more than $200,000 for the care and support of SAR dogs
at the scene. The staff is now navigating the red tape necessary to make sure
that all SAR teams that responded with dogs get a share of the money to allocate
according to their individual group policies, even though many have departed
the scene.
“The clubs have been fantastic,” Sprung said. “The dog fancy
should get a pat on the back and a big round of applause. I was not surprised;
the response was typical of the dog fancy. It was exactly how I expected them
to react.”
* Although not part of the city, state, or federal emergency response
system, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also responded.
The ASPCA parked its mobile veterinary unit outside the disaster perimeter to
assist pets and pet owners in Battery Park City, a residential and commercial
complex near the World Trade Center. Many buildings in Battery Park City were
damaged in the attack and were closed for several days, leaving many pets without
food or water. The ASPCA and the NYC Animal Control agency took these animals
into custody until their owners could bring them home. Some were eventually
placed in new homes.
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