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The Best of Human Nature

K-State alumnus provides veterinary care for search-and-rescue dogs at Ground Zero

As terrorists slammed two hijacked planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, there were reports of local veterinarians on the scene within minutes of the attacks to offer medical assistance to both humans and animals. Within days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) called up members of the Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams (VMAT) to assist in medical care for the search-and-rescue and cadaver-locating dogs, and other animals injured or abandoned as a result of the destruction.

Organized through the U.S. Public Health Service, VMAT are comprised of four regionally based groups in the United States, and they are often one of the first medical care organizations on the scene of national and regional disasters. However, even for seasoned veterans, the WTC site was truly a horrific and unforgettable sight.

As a member of VMAT, Dr. Martha O'Rourke, a 1966 K-State College of Veterinary Medicine graduate, volunteered her time, knowledge and expertise. She arrived on the rescue scene within just a few short days of the attacks.

"The visual impact of the wreckage was enormous," Dr. O'Rourke said. "Television just doesn't convey the impact or the magnitude of the damage to the area. You have to see it to absorb the enormity of the devastation to the financial district of New York City, and the people who lived and worked there."

"Another veterinarian and myself made our way to a nearby building where we could get a view of the site from two or three stories high. This area had become a meditation area of sorts. People had set up makeshift memorials by writing on the walls and by setting up flowers. There was a fine dust everywhere, and we kicked up a cloud of dust every time we moved," Dr. O'Rourke said. "Looking down at the wreckage site was like looking down at a surrealistic sight. It was worse than anything I've ever seen. The surrounding buildings were extremely charred and the windows blown out."

Dr. O'Rourke departed her hometown of Toms River, N.J. on September 15 with a clear vision of her mission at the WTC site. Over the next two weeks her 12-hour work days were split between two locations. A Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) had been set up on a median on West Street, within five blocks of the World Trade Center, to give immediate care to the search-and-rescue dogs as they also worked their 12-hour shifts. The Urban Search and Rescue Teams were housed at Jacob Javits Convention Center, and a clinic was set up to treat the dogs before and after their shift work. Dressed in a U.S. Air Force battle dress uniform, she reported to her station everyday for the next 14 days. Her days were split between the MASH unit and a canine clinic at Jacob Javits Convention Center. VMAT workers also operated a mobile triage unit at Ground Zero. The compact, two-person flatbed, called a gator, allowed the possibility for rapid stabilization and evacuation of seriously injured dogs. Luckily, most of the canine injuries were minor in nature. However, because of the vastness of the site, the unit was used to deliver water and supplies to workers as well as to check on the teams and the status of the dogs.

"The gator allowed us to check the entire perimeter of the scene so we could efficiently look for injured search dogs," Dr. O'Rourke said. "It saved us an incredible amount of walking, time and energy."

Due to tight security, Dr. O'Rourke and other disaster relief workers had to go through several checkpoints to get to their workstations. People were not being allowed within the barricades surrounding the site unless they were uniformed, and they could present two forms of identification and credentials.

As part of FEMA, the National Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) participants were called into action within hours of the attacks on September 11. Also part of FEMA, VMAT are deployed to take care of federal assets. In this case, the assets were the federal search-and-rescue dogs. Participants from more than 20 of the 28 FEMA US&R Task Forces throughout the country quickly emerged at the site of the disaster. Each team was composed of 40-50 personnel including engineers, emergency medical technicians, physicians, camera operators, equipment operators and many others. Aided by approximately 80 search-and-rescue dogs, more than 1,200 firefighters searched through ruins of the World Trade Center.

"They are professional, calm and serious minded. It takes an unusual person," Dr. O'Rourke said of the firefighters. "Their motto – for the serious, not the well meaning – says it all."

While Dr. O'Rourke describes the scene as "chaotic" due to the noise level and large volume of activity, the actual work performed by the search-and-rescue heroes was very well organized and focused.

"They rose to the demand of their work, and they knew what they wanted to accomplish," Dr. O'Rourke said.

"It was only during their quiet, resting moments that you could see the toll of their work. They were extremely fatigued and saddened. I saw many workers sitting on curbs with their heads hung low out of exhaustion," Dr. O’Rourke added.

Each US&R canine/handler team is certified in search-and-rescue efforts. Certification for the dog includes proper command control and barking alert skills to notify rescuers of a find. They must also possess agility skills and a willingness to overcome inherent fears of tunnels and wobbly surfaces under the guidance of the handler. The human handler also has a number of minimum qualifications, including canine handling skills, to be met before certification is granted.

With hopes of finding survivors trapped within the rubble, non-federal dogs and their owners turned up by the hundreds willing to devote their time and services. There were unconfirmed reports in the media of more than 300 certified and non-certified search-and-rescue dogs canvassing the 16-acre wreckage.

Dr. O'Rourke said the conditions at Ground Zero were extremely dangerous in the days immediately following the attacks. The air was thick with dust, smoke and debris and more buildings near the site were in danger of collapsing. Professionals constantly monitored air quality for dangerous levels of carbon monoxide and other toxins. Several large cranes were used in the area to clear away debris, and fires continued to burn and re-ignite as smoldering debris was exposed to fresh oxygen.

"As workers relentlessly removed obstacles, they would discover voids where people could have been trapped," Dr. O'Rourke said. "A dog team would be called over to go into the opening to look for survivors as well as victims. The teams always searched in pairs, usually a group of two dogs and two handlers."

Most of Dr. O'Rourke's patients were treated for relatively minor problems such as dehydration, and cuts and abrasions on their feet. There were also frequent cases of eye irritations, stress diarrhea and stress hematuria (bleeding inside of the bladder).

"The most serious case I saw was a dog who had fallen off an I-beam, and even she recovered quickly. No dogs died in the search-and-rescue efforts," Dr. O'Rourke said.

"The US&R dogs were so well trained, and their handlers were completely in-tune to their dog's needs. They could tell me how much liquid their dog was drinking down to a few ounces," Dr. O'Rourke said. "Some of these dogs were so well acclimated that they could sleep during short breaks amidst the noise and activity."

"However, the volunteer dogs had more problems than the federal dogs. They are uncertified and not nearly as prepared for disasters of such enormity," Dr. O’Rourke said.

Because of dirt and potentially dangerous toxins, veterinary technicians bathed all of the search-and-rescue dogs after their duty. They had to be decontaminated just as their human counterparts.

Contrary to many beliefs, both large and small dogs are used in search-and-rescue efforts. While large, purebred breeds such as labs, golden retrievers and Dobermans dominated in numbers, Dr. O'Rourke treated a variety of mixed breeds, and dogs as small as a 20-pound rat terrier. Smaller dogs can crawl into tighter spaces.

While working at Ground Zero, members of VMAT were first housed at the LaGuardia Airport Marriott and later moved to a hotel in Manhattan. Travel to and from lower Manhattan required an hour of travel each direction. Fourteen hours after leaving the hotel for her shift, Dr. O'Rourke would arrive back in her room exhausted.

"I worked from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. everyday, and I usually arrived back in my hotel room after midnight," Dr. O'Rourke said. "After showering it was after 1:00 a.m. I found myself replaying the events of the day in my head. It was difficult to unwind and relax under the stress of the day and get into the sleep mode."

In the end, when FEMA pulled the US&R teams from the WTC site at the beginning of October, VMAT personnel had treated more than 900 dogs. Most VMAT personnel left their duties at Ground Zero shortly thereafter. Volunteer dogs remained on the site and local New York City veterinarians handled most of the remaining cases.

Dr. O'Rourke anticipates that the need for VMAT groups will increase in the foreseeable future. Bomb sniffing dogs are now being called prior to conventions, sporting events and other large gatherings, and they will be used prior to and during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

When asked if there is one image from the WTC disaster that stands out in her mind, she quickly replies, "The potato chip. The steel shell of tower number one that remained after it fell."