MFM Minisode 508

Karen Kilgariff (0:16)

Hello.

Georgia Hardstark (0:17)

Hello.

Karen Kilgariff (0:18)

And welcome.

Georgia Hardstark (0:18)

To My Favorite Murder.

Karen Kilgariff (0:20)

The mini-sode.

Georgia Hardstark (0:22)

I was so, like, thoughtful of you and heartfelt.

Karen Kilgariff (0:25)

You know what it is? It's because we get to record this from home.

Georgia Hardstark (0:28)

I know.

Karen Kilgariff (0:29)

So, like, I'm looking at Georgia sitting in a big rattan chair in a sundresser. It's like, we're going to run out of this record and just go be in the day.

Georgia Hardstark (0:37)

No makeup on. That's so nice. Hold on. But immediately, Elvis. Oh, my God. I just called Moe Elvis. Immediately, Moe is bugging me.

Karen Kilgariff (0:44)

Moe, get in here. We need you for this record. How is he?

Georgia Hardstark (0:47)

He's a jerk.

Karen Kilgariff (0:49)

Is he high maintenance?

Georgia Hardstark (0:50)

He is. And I love it. All right. Do you want to go first?

Karen Kilgariff (0:55)

Sure.

This is kind of lovely. The subject line of this email is Hero Guide Dog Story from 9-Eleven.

Georgia Hardstark (1:01)

Oh dear.

Karen Kilgariff (1:02)

Yeah. So it says, Hello, I'm writing this on the 25th anniversary of the 9-Eleven attacks and I listened to Karen's story about the 88th floor heroes yesterday. And if you want to listen to that, it's episode 549, Let's Action, which is also our new British new wave album.

Okay. So it says, I wanted to share the story of a hero from the 78th floor, a yellow lab named Rosal. Oh no.

Michael Hingston, who has been blind since birth, was working at his desk on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower when the first plane hit the building above him. His three-year-old guide dog, Rosal, was asleep under his desk. She calmly guided Michael to stairwell B despite the fear, confusion and smoke that was starting to fill the air. Over the next hour, Rosal led Michael and about 30 other people down 1,463 steps to safety.

Georgia Hardstark (1:56)

Oh my God.

Karen Kilgariff (1:58)

She calmly guided him around obstacles and debris just as she was trained to do. Michael says that he repeated over and over throughout their descent that she was doing a great job. He wanted to reassure her that he was okay because he was sure that she could sense the panic around him. At one point, they came up to a woman who was having a panic attack in the stairwell. They stopped to comfort her and Rosal gave her kisses. Then she got back to her task.

Can you imagine just the horror show and then suddenly there's just a dog there licking your face?

Georgia Hardstark (2:30)

I would like you, I mean.

Karen Kilgariff (2:32)

I would grab that dog, scruff and never let go.

Georgia Hardstark (2:35)

Smooches for days.

Karen Kilgariff (2:37)

Please. Okay. Michael also calmed his colleague who had started to panic at some point saying, if Rosal and I can make it down these stairs, so can you.

Yeah. Rosal, her human and their entourage made it to the lobby just as the other tower collapsed. Rosal, unfazed, led Michael to the entry of a subway station all the way out, all the way out into a subway station. Later that evening, when they made it home to New Jersey.

Georgia Hardstark (3:05)

They made it home. I was ready for this to end horribly.

Karen Kilgariff (3:10)

Later that evening, when they made it home to New Jersey, Rosal grabbed her favorite toy and started playing with their other dog as though it had been a totally normal day on the job.

Georgia Hardstark (3:20)

Oh my god.

Karen Kilgariff (3:21)

There were, of course, many other hero dogs that day. Another guide dog named Salty, also a yellow lab, guided his human down to safety. And so many search and rescue dogs worked through the rubble in the days and weeks that followed. So sad. But I wanted to share Rosal's story with you and listeners. She might be the goodest girl ever.

Rosal, it's such a good name. I have no personal connection to Rosal or Michael, but I am especially struck by this story because I'm a puppy raiser for the Seeing Eye. The Seeing Eye is the oldest guide dog school in the US.

I didn't know that. There's like one that was first. I mean, obviously, I didn't know things could, if they were the first one, that would mean they were...

Georgia Hardstark (4:07)

I mean, it makes sense to be like, that's just the thing, not like, how did it start?

Karen Kilgariff (4:11)