Fourteen search and rescue dogs have died
since their exposure to toxic rubble from the Sept. 11 terrorist
attack - including eight from cancer, according to a study by the
University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. But
researchers believe there is no connection between the deaths and
the chemicals they were exposed to.
Despite the study's findings, some of the owners whose dogs have
died still blame the toxic brew the dogs immersed themselves in
during the hunt for survivors and remains.
"We can't find any link at this point that ties the 14 deaths to
events of Sept. 11," said Dr. Cynthia Otto, the study's lead
researcher. "Some have passed away, but the causes of death are no
different than in the control group. That is good news."
Otto's team, which has been monitoring the health of 97 dogs who
worked at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and the Fresh Kills landfill on
Staten Island, did find "significantly higher" antibodies in the
search dogs in the first year after the terrorist attack.
The elevated presence of antibodies, she explained, showed the
dogs had been exposed to foreign substances that pressed their
immune systems into higher gear.
Although Otto was heartened to find the vast majority of dogs
were in good health, given the exposure and the blood changes in the
first year, questions remain about possible long-term effects.
"I don't think these dogs are completely out of the woods," she
said. "That is why we need to monitor these dogs until the end of
their lives - for the dogs' sake and for people's sake. If there is
a problem in the dogs down the line, there is a good chance a
similar problem could be found in people."
Among the canine deaths was Servus, a 12-year-old Belgian
Malinois police dog, who had to be carried out on a stretcher from
Ground Zero after he fell into a hole face down, his snout and lungs
filled with concrete dust and ash. He died of pancreatitis, Otto
said.
And Anna, a 4-year-old German shepherd who spent three days
crawling on her belly trying to scent any survivors, was put down
Aug. 2, 2002, ravaged by an unusual bone-eating fungal infection.
"Anna had been to the vet two months before she was deployed, and
her blood work and X-rays were fine," said Sarah Atlas, a New Jersey
emergency medical technician and Anna's handler. "I know the
university did everything they could to help her, and they say that
Anna was probably genetically predisposed to the disease, but in my
heart I know what I feel."
John Gilkey, a Maryland firefighter, lost his 10-year-old
chocolate Labrador retriever, Bear, to hepatitis last September. The
dog's liver tests were not normal before the eight nights he spent
on the World Trade Center pile, and blood tests and a biopsy showed
disease soon afterward.
"I was surprised," Gilkey said, when he got the medical results.
"But to be perfectly honest, I don't think Bear was made sick by the
World Trade Center." Fighting back emotion, Gilkey added, "Bear and
I had 21 months together after the diagnosis. I miss him terribly."
Dr. Philip Fox of Manhattan's Animal Medical Center, who has been
monitoring the health of 30 New York City police dogs who worked at
the World Trade Center, agreed with Otto's findings.
"These dogs have not been inundated by suspicious or debilitating
diseases that we were afraid might occur," Fox said.
"They all had lung irritation, eye irritation and coughing in the
first few weeks, but they seem to be clinically healthy almost three
years later, except for a couple of animals who died of cancer that
would be expected, given their age and breed."
Originally published on August 22, 2004
