Thunder Dog - Michael Hingson [63]
Not long after, I got an offer from Bob Phillips, CEO of Guide Dogs for the Blind, to serve as spokesperson out of the campus in San Rafael, California. It was the very same place I went at age fourteen to meet my first guide dog, Squire. It was also the same school that trained Roselle. We took time to make our decision. Going from urban New York City to the lush green and gold hills of the Marin Peninsula on the other side of the country would be a huge change of pace. Taking the offer would also mean giving up my six-figure regional sales manager’s salary. But I had changed. We had changed. The money and the demands and pressures of my high-powered job didn’t seem as important as before. So Karen and I decided to take the offer. It was time to move back to California.
I worked for Guide Dogs for the Blind for six and a half years and had a wonderful time. From my office on the campus in San Rafael (with my “Dog Is My Co-pilot” poster) to the amazing people I had the privilege to work with, including Roselle’s trainer, Todd Jurek, my term at Guide Dogs was one of the highlights of my life. Being part of an organization that gives people back their confidence and their mobility through a partnership with a guide dog is a satisfying way to make a living.
The requests for interviews and speeches continued to grow, and eventually I resigned from Guide Dogs and went on the road full-time, speaking to thousands of people every year. I will never get tired of telling my story as long as it helps people. And I will never get tired of answering questions. (Here’s one of my favorites from a grade schooler: “How do blind people have sex?” Answer: “They same way sighted people do.”)
Roselle went everywhere with me until she retired in 2007 at a public ceremony at Guide Dogs. They also retired her name; no future guide dog will ever be named Roselle. Over the years she’s been showered with awards for her role in 9/11: the Heroes of Hartz award from Hartz Mountain Corporation, including a donation of twenty thousand dollars to Guide Dogs for the Blind; a British award called the PDSA Dickin medal, recognized worldwide as “the animals’ Victoria Cross” and given to animals that display conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty; the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) ACE Award for Canine Excellence; and special recognition from Guide Dogs for the Blind upon retirement for “displaying exemplary courage, steadfastness, and partnership in learning.” In addition, Roselle’s name was read into the National Congressional Record in recognition for her service.
I’ve stayed close friends with Kay and Ted Stern, who were Roselle’s puppy raisers. They took her home from Guide Dogs when she was just four months old and kept her for ten months of basic training. As you can imagine, they are very proud. “She is just a steady girl,” said Ted Stern in an interview.
One of the questions I get asked often is how Roselle was able to ignore what was happening around us at the WTC to concentrate on guiding. While our close bond and our teamwork played a part, Roselle’s trainer, Todd Jurek, said there is no way to prepare a dog to guide through a life-and-death situation like Roselle encountered on September 11. While Roselle’s abilities are in part due to a combination of good breeding and good training, “she is a very special dog,” said Jurek. “Most dogs in that situation would have flipped out, and that’s the truth. She is just a pretty amazing dog to be able to guide you calmly down the stairs with all that commotion happening. People ask me, ‘How did you train that dog to do that?’ I just put her through the training, and the rest was her will and her strong temperament. Roselle was fun, outgoing, and loved to play, but ultimately she was always a good worker and serious in her work.”
When she was still guiding