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9/11 See other 9/11 Articles Title: SEPT. 11 RESCUE DOG WITH CANCER DIES NEW YORK (AP) - A black Labrador that burrowed through smoking debris after Sept. 11 and flooded rubble after Hurricane Katrina in search of survivors has died after developing cancer. Owner Mary Flood had 12-year-old Jake put to sleep Wednesday after a last stroll through the fields and a dip in the creek near their home in Oakley, Utah. Flood said Jake had been in pain, shaking with a 105-degree fever as he lay on the lawn. No one can say whether the dog would have gotten sick if he hadn't been exposed to the toxic air at the World Trade Center, but cancer in dogs Jake's age is common. Some owners of rescue dogs who worked at ground zero claim their animals have died because of their work there. But scientists who have spent years studying the health of Sept. 11 search-and-rescue dogs have found no sign of major illness in the animals. Many human ground zero workers have complained of health problems they attribute to their time at the site: the largest study conducted of about 20,000 ground zero workers reported last year that 70 percent of patients suffer respiratory disease years after the cleanup. The city earlier this year added to its Sept. 11 death toll a woman who died in 2002 of lung disease, five months after she was caught in the dust cloud of the collapsing twin towers. The results of an autopsy on Jake's body will be part of a medical study on the Sept. 11 dogs that was started by the University of Pennsylvania more than 5 years ago. Flood adopted Jake as a 10-month-old puppy. He had been abandoned on a street with a broken leg and a dislocated hip. "But against all odds he became a world-class rescue dog," said Flood, a member of Utah Task Force 1, a federal search-and-rescue team that looked for human remains at ground zero. On the evening of the team's arrival in New York, Jake walked into a fancy Manhattan restaurant wearing his search-and-rescue vest and was treated to a free steak dinner under a table. Flood eventually trained Jake to become one of fewer than 200 U.S. government-certified rescue dogs - an animal on 24-hour call to tackle disasters such as building collapses, earthquakes, hurricanes and avalanches. After Katrina, Flood and Jake drove from Utah to Mississippi, where they searched for survivors in flooded homes. In recent years, Jake helped train younger dogs across the country. He showed them how to track scents, even in the snow, and how to look up if the scent was in a tree. He also did therapy work with children at a Utah camp for burn victims and at senior homes and hospitals. "He was a great morale booster wherever he went," Flood said. "He was always ready to work, eager to play - and a master at helping himself to any unattended food items." She said Jake's ashes would be scattered "in places that were important to him," such as his Utah training grounds and the rivers and hills near his home where he swam and roamed. Rest in peace, dear Jake--you good and faithful servant.... Enjoy romping in the fields and streams on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge while you await Mary's arrival.
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#5. To: rowdee (#0)
awwww..look at that sweet face. this brings tears.
The intensity of youth on the first pic's face........and then the wisdom in the face of the third pic. I had a Labrador-Meanmomma pup. What a dominating, hard-headed dog. A real beauty, but sheesh. Decided then and there to stick with the Border Collies.
I was struck by how 'soulful' the expression was in both...I've had dogs like that...i'll never get another dog because of it....it's way too hard when they leave you.
I had to have my last Border Collie, Luv, put to sleep near the end of April. Gawd, I love that breed of dog. She was a 3-legged wonder, having lost her right front leg to a hunter's bullet when she was near a year old. The rancher who owned her thought she'd be unable to work cattle, so he hauled her over 60 miles to the local vet here to be put to sleep. But Dr. Renee refused to put her down because she was young, healthy, was just recently spayed, had all her shots, etc. He told her she'd have to find her a home.........and she did! She actually took Luv back and forth from her home to the clinic daily until I took her home with me. She was a perfect fit with my other 2 dogs and the cats. Funny how she outlasted them all. I will be getting another pet--I'm just not sure when and the breed...a Border Collie might be a bit much for an ol lady nowadays! We'll see........you can't enjoy the love they bring ya if you don't have them. And part of loving in return is knowing when to say 'when'. :(
that's a beautiful story. my daughter got a dog about 4 years ago...i tried to talk her out of it....she was a pound pup...they thougt she might have Border Collie in her as well....my daughter is beginning to think possibly coyote, the way she pounces on her 'prey' and likes to hide under the bed or in her 'cave' [non-working fireplace].....she's beginning to contemplate 'that day', hopefully many years hence, and she's freaking out....knowing [or acting on] 'when' is a tough one for me....i'd rather not put myself in that position anymore....
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