W.T.C Search & Rescue Dogs Dying of Cancer?

**QueenScoopalot** · 08-30-2004, 09:16 PM

http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=2205403

NEW YORK Fourteen search and rescue dogs who dug through the rubble of the World Trade Center have since died.

Eight of the dogs died from cancer.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine say they don't believe there is a connection between the deaths and the chemicals the dogs were exposed to.

But the New York Daily News says some dog owners blame the mix of chemicals their dogs were exposed to during the hunt for survivors and remains after the attack on September eleventh, 2001.

And the lead author of the study says the surviving dogs will need to be monitored for the rest of their lives. Doctor Cynthia Otto says if they begin to have health problems, there is a good chance that people who worked to clear the site could have problems as well.

**pitc9** · 08-31-2004, 07:51 AM

I saw this on tv the other day and started crying..... I guess as they say...

.... some gave all.....

RIP sweet SAR dogs..... play hard at the bridge.
I'm sure there is a special place at the bridge for those dogs!

**pitc9** · 09-01-2004, 09:46 AM

*~BUMP~*

**lizzielou742** · 09-01-2004, 10:05 AM

Originally posted by QueenScoopalot
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine say they don't believe there is a connection between the deaths and the chemicals the dogs were exposed to.

Just a coincidence I suppose?

**Logan** · 09-01-2004, 10:52 AM

There are so many dogs with cancer and the rate of cancer seems to be increasing among them. I truly don't doubt that it is a coincidence, but I hope they are looking into the causes, just in case.

**QueenScoopalot** · 09-01-2004, 12:14 PM

I got this from VetPet (a vet run forum I'm subscribed to). This is a first hand account of what the dogs went through during those weeks...too sad.

In a message dated 8/30/04 11:17:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
That's so sad! And scary. I think 14 is a heck of a lot to die within a
> short time span ... 8 from cancer alone.

There's a lot of similar speculation about the rescue *people from the WTC,
although it's considered too soon to attribute the unusual number of illness
cases to that factor alone.
(See, for example:
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/sto...p-169671c.html)

Taking into account the shorter lifespan of dogs and the condensed course of
cancer development, it's hard not to wonder about the connection. I know I
mentioned it already back when it happened ... that my (adult) kids
volunteered down on the ferry docks the day after the attack. They worked on
volunteer teams that were assigned to various projects. My son boxed and
loaded supplies onto the boats and, as luck would have it, my daughters drew
dog duty and spent two days helping to bathe and feed the rescue dogs as they
came off the shuttle ferries with their handlers. The workers were fed and
tended to medically and so were the dogs. The girls came home in tears, a
combination of their awe and admiration for the human/canine rescue teams and
the upset of seeing how wrecked some of the dogs were, coughing and gagging
from lung irritation, tainted by unknown chemical substances, clods of melted
plastic stuck to their coats and skin, eyes seared, etc. It seemed very
likely that there would be a health price to pay down the road for some of
them.

**dappledoxie** · 09-01-2004, 12:25 PM

Oh my, that is so sad, my heart aches for everyone that was involved and those sweet SAR dogs, they are heros too

**DJFyrewolf36** · 09-01-2004, 12:37 PM

There is a special place in heaven for those hardworking pups! Play hard at the RB, search and rescue dogs, knowing you gave it all for your work! I hope the handlers won't start seeing an increase of cancer and illness amongst them as well. Are there any reports of the medical effects on the handlers and other rescue workers, or have the animals just been looked at?

**QueenScoopalot** · 09-01-2004, 03:23 PM

DJF Scroll down to the second post I put up...halfway down is a link about some 1,700 people suing NY for health related issues due to cleaning up that horrible nightmare.