The Four-Legged Heroes of 9/11 Quiz

Answer: 20-45 minutes

The dogs and their handlers were on-call for 12-hour shifts. They generally worked in the rubble for 20 to 45 minutes and then rested for an equal period of time. The teams of dogs included Search and Rescue (SAR) as well as therapy dogs. The majority of dogs on the scene were trained to find survivors but unfortunately that changed as efforts continued.

Answer: He detected fires burning beneath the rubble.

Kaiser was able to feel the hot rubble under his bare paws and alerted his handler to investigate further. Zintsmaster realized fires were still burning under the rubble, which could have had tragic consequences for rescue workers if there had been a collapse.

Answer: False

Servus was rescued from the pit and given immediate medical attention which included oxygen and an IV. He was rushed to the nearest animal hospital in the back seat of an NYPD cruiser, complete with a motorcycle escort. Servus recovered after a day and was able to return to duty at Ground Zero.

Answer: cadaver

Cadaver dogs are trained to locate human remains by detecting chemicals released by the human body during decomposition. They are trained in trailing and air scenting.

Although the dogs did not locate live victims at Ground Zero, in many cases the remains they did find aided the families in grieving for their loved ones.

Answer: victim loyalty

Dogs were usually trained in one of the methods although some were trained additionally. "Find it" is essentially an air scent alert which was most common, "show me" is known as recall-find which was not used often because the SAR dogs were at times lowered into deep "pockets" in the rubble or "belly crawling" into hard to reach spaces and with "victim loyalty" the dogs always remained with the victim and signaled either by barking or pawing for the human rescuer to come and investigate the spot.

Answer: safety vests

The SAR dogs did not wear respirator masks as their "job" required them to locate human scent. It is interesting to note that studies conducted on the dogs deployed to the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Staten Island landfills fared extremely well without masks. One theory is because dogs have longer nasal passages than humans, perhaps their noses filter better. Most dogs did not wear booties because they require traction to walk on piles of debris and rubble. Bright orange safety vests were a standard issue.

The vest enabled dogs to be harnessed while in a "Stokes Basket" (a basket stretcher used in rescue) and pulled by rope trolley system above of the deep "canyons" of Ground Zero".

Answer: seizures

Therapy dogs aided in calming anxiety, provided unconditional love and in some cases enabled overwhelmed workers to "open up" and communicate. Therapy dogs at the Pier 94 Family Assistance Center provided comfort to victims' families also.

There are "Seizure Response Dogs" that are trained assist people with epilepsy or other seizure disorders however they were not used in the Ground Zero recovery.

Answer: the standard process did not include any of these

An assembly line, described as a "doggy car wash", was utilized as Task Force members cleaned dogs (and scrubbed the human searchers' boots). Since SAR dogs cannot wear respirators and "booties", special attention was paid to noses and paws. Although all of the above were available if needed, they were not part of the usual decontamination process.

Answer: two month deployment in Iraq

Dusty rang the opening bell for the NYSE on September 19, 2001. She received an appreciative pat on the head from President Bush when he visited Ground Zero. When she was "off duty" she could frequently be seen walking around with her handler's safety helmet in her mouth entertaining the rescuers. Mayor Giuliani was quoted as saying "I just look at her and I feel better".

Answer: depression

Some dogs were affected emotionally as well as humans. After locating the two victims Worf laid down. He began shedding a great deal, wouldn't eat or play with other dogs. His owner felt he was overwhelmed and decided to retire him as a SAR dog.

Change in eating habits, withdrawal and unusual shedding can all be symptoms of depression.