Search and Rescue, Canine Style
|
Animals at Ground Zero Heroes in all shapes, sizes, and breeds Meet One of the Dog Teams Pier 40: Heart of the Operation The Four-Legged Heroes Search & Rescue, Canine Style Where Are They Now? Pets in Peril Diary of a K-9 Team Preparing for Animal Care in a Disaster If You’re an Animal Organization A Snapshot of the E-mails Other Websites A Memorial Roster A Tribute |
Staffed only by volunteers, the Suffolk County canine crew’s regular job was to investigate animal abuse. But recently, they had received funding for a MASH unit, a mobile spay/neuter hospital.
Roy Gross, chief of the rescue department, took the call from NYPD Emergency Services. The MASH unit was needed, with all their expertise and staff, to help with the rescue dogs. Veterinarians, vet techs, and volunteers were mobilized from all over the city.
Half a dozen tents were quickly erected.
“The dogs would come out of the site covered in ash and debris,” Gross recalled. “We hydrated them with IV fluids, rinsed the dust out of their eyes, bathed them, gave them antibiotics, cleaned and stitched wounds, and fitted them with booties.
“In just the first five days, we treated over 200 dogs. I believe there were about 300 dogs in the perimeter. Some of them came in, and they’d been working so hard, they were about to collapse. I saw one come in that we treated and hydrated, and the dog was just pulling his handler back to the pile – like he just knew he had to go in there and do his job.”