The Guide Dog Who, On 9/11, Returned To Save His Owner’s Life

Every time the date of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York arrives, different ways of remembering their dead and survivors appear. In this opportunity, we will tell the story of the guide dog that returned to save its owner’s life.

A man, his guide dog and memories of horror

After 15 years of 9/11, we want to remember the story of Colombian engineer Omar Eduardo Rivera and Salty, his guide dog.

On that fateful day, the man, who is blind, was working on the 71st floor of Tower 1. The offices of the Technological Department of Information Services of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operated there. The guide dog was, as always, beside him.

Suddenly, Rivera heard a loud bang and noticed that the building was starting to shake. He also noticed that the animal was fidgeting. Then he grabbed the dog Salty by the leash and started walking to the nearest emergency exit.

The engineer reports that he then had the feeling that, given his visual incapacity, it would be very difficult to get out of this situation alive, among so many people desperate to leave the building.

Salty did not abandon his owner and save him from death in Tower 1

Faced with this extreme reality, Rivera made the decision to save the dog. He unfastened the strap and ordered her to go without him. But Salty, in a few minutes, was again with its dear owner.

It was like this, step by step, amidst the chaos generated by this strange situation – a plane crashing into a building – that the two managed to descend the necessary 70 floors and leave the place.

The descent took over an hour. When the man and his guide dog finally reached the street, the animal was soon able to clear a path and lead its owner to a safer location. A few minutes later, the tower collapsed.

A guide dog that never abandoned its owner

“At that moment I knew that Salty loved me as much as I loved him,” recalls Rivera, who in 2001 was 44 years old. The loyalty of his guide dog allowed the man to continue life with his family. And so he can enjoy the company of his granddaughters, born some time after the attack.

As for the dog Salty, the beautiful golden Labrador , he continued to accompany the blind engineer for a while longer. The dog died in 2008. But before that, he was recognized on many occasions for his heroic attitude.

Among the awards received by the guide dog for the blind, the Dickin medal stands out. This distinction is awarded by the Veterinary Association “People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals”.

Rivera’s guide dog had been trained in 1998 by the “Guiding Eyes for the Blind” foundation of Yorktown Heights, New York.

Dogs, those beings who do so much for us

In addition, we must not forget to mention that, in the terrible attack on the Twin Towers, dogs were instrumental in the rescue of victims trapped in the rubble.

But in today’s story, it was the love and faithfulness of a guide dog that allowed a blind person to survive this terrible situation.

However, Salty was not the only blind guide present in the buildings brought down by planes on 9/11. Also among the dogs, Roselle. The dog that accompanied her blind owner, Michael Hingson, on the 78th floor of the same tower. But this noble animal, also of the Labrador breed , not only led its owner safely to the exit. She also helped 30 other people escape that hell.

Main image source: www.abc.es