For Michael Hingson, the morning of Tuesday, 11th of September 2001, was just like any other.
He arrived on floor 78 of World Trade Centre’s North Tower, ready for a big day of work ahead of him. Since Michael has been blind since birth, he had his trusty guide dog Roselle beside him, underneath the desk. Soon after settling in, at 8:46am, tragedy struck as the North Tower was hit by the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11, 15 floors above where Michael was sitting.
Michael Hingson and Roselle
Michael works as a sales manager for Quantum Corporation, a Fortune 500 company. He had just finished preparing for the upcoming seminars that he was due to give out later on the day when a tremendous explosion shook the building.
At the time, Michael was unsure what event had just occurred, but his instincts kicked in and he figured that things were not quite right as he could smell jet fuel. After making a quick call to his wife and ensuring that all his staff was evacuating, Hingson and his Labrador Retriever began their descent of 78 flights of stairs.
Unsure whether Roselle could hear him or see his hand signals through the smoke, Hingson trusted that his dog would not lead him into danger. After he gave Roselle the command “Forward”, the pair, along with more than 30 other individuals, were led down more than 1400 steps and into safety by the canine. Roselle only stopped to give kisses to a woman who was having a panic attack.
When they finally reached the ground floor, the South Tower had already been hit and was also starting to collapse. Roselle instinctively led Michael and the others down a subway entrance to shelter them from the falling debris. As they emerged from underground, Tower One was beginning to fall with ashes and debris scattering down around them. Roselle bravely and unhesitatingly escorted Hingson to his friend’s apartment for safety, which was located more than 30 blocks away.
Roselle was given the prestigious Award for Canine Excellence (ACE) in 2002 and continued her role as a service dog until 2007. She sadly passed away in 2011 at the age of 14, with both Michael and Karen Hingson by her side.
