Service Animals Facts

On September 11, 2001, a yellow Labrador named Roselle was asleep under her owner's desk on the 78th floor of the North Tower when Flight 11 struck 15 floors above them. She guided her blind owner, Michael Hingson, and 30 others down 1,463 stairs to safety. They emerged onto the street just as Tower Two collapsed. She led them 40 more blocks uptown. Everyone survived.

Bretagne, a golden retriever, worked Ground Zero for 10 days after 9/11 as a 2-year-old. She later responded to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ivan. When she died at 16 in 2016, firefighters lined the sidewalk and saluted her - then carried her out draped in an American flag.