The Helpless Suffer Again...

We have all been overwhelmed by the attack on the World Trade Center, and by the scale of destruction and loss of life. Without minimizing the human tragedy, we should take a moment to remember the animals caught up in a disaster they cannot comprehend.

The Search and Rescue dogs and their handlers have received a lot of media attention for their tireless dedication. Less noticed is the loss of a police bomb detection dog, trapped in his kennel in the basement of the World Trade Center, where a dog had been assigned after the 1993 attack. His handler raced upstairs after the initial impact to find out what had happened and miraculously survived the collapse. His dog, a yellow Labrador, has not been found.

New York area animal welfare organizations have been attempting to locate and care for pets whose owners died or those who were left in apartments near the scene of the disaster and their owners are not allowed to return due to safety concerns.

Estimates are that as many as 1000 pets may have been affected, and many of those may have died of starvation. STGD! has been able to help by donating pet food to the rescue groups, but much time has elapsed before rescue efforts could begin. Information is sketchy both as to individual animals involved and total numbers. We don't know if any greyhounds were involved, but several rescue groups are active in the area.

We hope for the best, but must accept that in addition to the human victims, many of their closest animal friends and companions have also perished. Please hold them in your thoughts and prayers.