Community Corner

Guide Dog, a Hero of 9/11, Wins Posthumous Award

Michael Hingson's yellow lab, Roselle, honored as American Humane Association Hero Dog at Saturday gala in Beverly Hills.

One of the most famous guide dogs in history received a posthumous award over the weekend, and of Novato could not be more proud.

Hingson, a blind survivor of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, learned that Roselle, his former guide dog, earned the title of American Hero Dog at the inaugural American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards. The gala affair took place Saturday in Beverly Hills, and the show is set to air on the Studio City-based Hallmark Channel on Nov. 11. Presenters included stars such as Eva Longoria, Betty White and Julianne Hough.

A $10,000 donation will be made to Guide Dogs for the Blind — Hingson’s former employer — in connection with the award. The winner was selected by a panel that included White, Whoopi Goldberg, Kristen Chenoweth and Mark Hamill.

Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Roselle died in June at the age of 13, but was posthumously given the top honor. She was honored for guiding Hingson down 78 flights of stairs in Tower One of the World Trade Center following attacks. Roselle died June 26, after the nominations were announced.

"From the outset, Roselle guided and did her job perfectly," Hingson wrote in his nomination of the Labrador retriever.

Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"While others in my office saw fire above us, Roselle did not panic. Because of Roselle's calm demeanor, I knew we could evacuate in an orderly manner. She remained focused as we went to the stairwell and traveled down 1,463 stairs to the first floor. Her poise helped me remain calm as we led others down to safety." 

After leaving Tower One, Hingson and Roselle were across the street from Tower Two when it collapsed.

"When everyone ran in panic, Roselle remained totally focused on her job as we ran,'' Hingson wrote. "When debris fell around us, and even hit us, Roselle stayed calm. Because of her poise, we found an entrance to the subway system where we could go underground away from the heavy dust cloud. Through the dust, I still don't know how she saw the entrance to the stairwell to the subway station. As usual, Roselle stopped at the top of the stairs and waited for me to command her to go forward and down. 

“All that day Roselle worked flawlessly. She saved my life and truly is the greatest dog hero of all."

Hingson, who lives in Bel Marin Keys and makes a living as a public speaker and salesman, wrote about his life experiences as a blind man in his new book Thunder Dog, which has made the New York Times’ best-seller list. He plans to talk more about Roselle and his close call Wednesday at a

“It is an incredible honor to see Roselle win this award  … I only wish she was here to share it with me,” Hingson said. “This award again is testimony to the wonderful teamwork we all can share with dogs and with each other. What Roselle and I accomplished together on 9/11 shows how strong the human-animal bond can be.  I hope our example will encourage others to pay more attention to their pets.”

Eight finalists were chosen in online voting from among 453 nominees from all 50 states. More than 400,000 votes were cast. The other seven finalists were:

   * Bino, a Dutch shepherd who served with the 35th Military Police
Detachment at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga. for nearly 11 years, including a 14-
month tour in Iraq and serving on special narcotics missions with the Border
Patrol;
   * Harley, a hearing dog from Fountain Hills, Ariz., who has given his
owner self-confidence and a feeling of equality with others that she had not
experienced before;
   * Ricochet, from Escondido, Calif., billed as the world's only known
dog that surfs with special needs children and people with disabilities for
therapeutic purposes. She has raised thousands of dollars for various causes.
   * Sadie, a Labrador retriever from Westminster, Colo., a certified
accelerant detection dog who works with the Major Crimes Unit of the Colorado
Bureau of Investigation and has worked on approximately 400 fires and assisted
in cases resulting in numerous arrests;
   * Sage, a search and rescue dog from Hagerman, N.M., who detected the
remains of a terrorist in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon and has
also been involved in the searches for survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
and the missing teenager Natalee Holloway;
   * Stacey Mae, a Greater Swiss Mountain dog and therapy dog from Guffey,
Colo. who has helped collect thousands of Teddy bears from around the world
for hospitalized children; and
   * Zurich, a Labrador retriever from Des Plaines, Ill., a certified
service dog.

The seven runners-up each won $5,000 to be donated to one of the
American Humane Association's charity partners.

— Mike Szymanski of Studio City Patch contributed to this report.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here