Lesson #135 - Dogs Are Extremely Loyal

There is a date - I'm sure you all know it - coming up. A very important date. I don't think there is any person in the world who doesn't know what happened 10 years ago on September 11, 2001. Being that I was EXTREMELY close to the location of where a plane crashed, my memories of that day are burned into my mind.

The past few weeks there have been quite a few specials commemorating the heroes of 9/11 and those who were lucky enough to survive. One such story stuck with me and, honestly, I really can't believe that this gentleman was able to make it out of the South Tower alive.

His rendition of the day is much more emotional, but I am going to try my best to express just how amazing his escape really was:

As a blind man, working on the 71st floor, he had a seeing eye dog with him at all times. The day of the attack, he felt the impact but was unsure of what was going on. His dog ran away from his desk - trying to figure out what was going on. A few minutes later and the dog had returned, sat right at his side against his leg, and was "crying" to alert him that something was wrong. So on went the harness and his dog pulled him to the stairwell.

Crowded full of people, he made his way down each stair with his loyal companion at his side. As they went down each floor, it got increasingly difficult since with each set of stairs came an influx of people making their way out of each floor. Once the firefighters began making their ways up the stairs, it became extremely difficult to move - the stairwell was only big enough for one row of people moving up and another row of people going down. He and his dog required space for two people - even three - in order for them to move together.

A difficult decision had to be made - so he bent over and took the leash off of the harness which allowed his faithful friend to make it down the stairs unattached and free. His dog - what looked to be a lab/retriever - made it down only 1/2 flight of stairs before realizing that his master was no longer by his side. The dog stopped in his tracks, turned around and made his way back UP the stairs to be by his master's side.

The story in itself was amazing to hear - but the fact that both he and his dog made it out alive was just a miracle. Unfortunately, due to smoke/debris inhalation, the dog had to be put to sleep - but the man in the documentary will definitely never forget his faithful friend - who was loyal to the end.

Have you ever had a pet that was more like a family member than a pet?