Inside the Harrowing Escape of 9/11 Survivor Michael Hingson and His Guide Dog, Roselle

All of a sudden, Roselle stopped. Guide dogs are trained to do this when they are presented with an unsafe condition. Michael Hingson reached out. He felt a rail and realized that Roselle had led him to the top of a flight of stairs. It was a subway station, and upon entering it, Hingson was able to catch his breath with the cleaner air that was down below.

The North Tower toppled just 10 minutes after Hingson and Roselle emerged from the subway station, leaving massive clouds of dust and debris behind. “Oh my god, Mike. There’s no World Trade Center anymore,” Frank said to Hingson. “All I see are pillars of smoke hundreds of feet tall.”

Michael Hingson’s Life After 9/11 Immediately upon returning to his New Jersey home that fateful day, Hingson removed Roselle’s harness. Instead of collapsing on the floor in a puddle of anxiety, she grabbed her favorite toy and wanted to play. Roselle took her job very seriously — but now, the workday was over.

Following the tragic events of the 9/11 attacks, the uplifting story of how Hingson and Roselle escaped the World Trade Center began to spread. They made the talk show circuit and appeared on radio shows.

However, the events of that day continue to get condensed into smaller and smaller historical footnotes every year. Therefore, some people today may not have heard about Michael Hingson and his beloved guide dog.Continue reading…