09/11/2021
‘On that fateful Tuesday, sales director Michael Hingson, blind since birth, arrived for work on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center’s Tower One. Hingson’s guide dog, Roselle, settled into her usual post beneath the desk.
At 8:45 a.m., a hijacked jetliner crashed into the tower 18 floors above Hingson. After calling his wife, Karen, and making sure his staff was evacuated, they began their hellish descent down 78 flights of stairs.
Roselle led the way for Hingson and 30 others, spiraling down the emergency stairs, working methodically through smoke, debris, and fleeing office workers, they made it to the lobby. By the time they reached the sidewalk, Tower Two had been struck and was collapsing. “It sounded like a metal and concrete waterfall,” Hingson said. They ran for shelter down a subway entrance.
They emerged from underground as Tower One fell, raining down ash and debris. Roselle led Hingson some 40 blocks to a friend’s apartment and safety.’
For her heroic behavior Roselle received the Canine Excellence Award (ACE) in the guide dog category in 2002. She died in June 2011, aged 14, with Michael and Karen Hingson at her side.
🇺🇸 We will never forget.
