thinking back to september 11 
By Linda Grskovich
It has been a long time since the events of Tuesday, September 11th and the attacks on the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, and the heroically downed plane in the fields of Pennsylvania. We all remember back to that day, where we were and what we were doing. I was a nurse at a Medical Center with a Regional Burn Unit. We were placed on “Alert” to receive victims early in that day. None arrived and at 2:30 pm, we were told to “Stand down”; that was very upsetting because it was then that we realized there would be little if no survivors. The days following were full with the horror of the impact of these attacks of terror. I was very upset. Our family was not personally impacted by the events; I cannot even imagine how others dealt with it all.
My husband and I were scheduled to leave on vacation on that following Friday, September 14th. . We were driving to Maine from Maryland. We were taking our 2 dogs with us for an ocean holiday. We had found a kennel near our vacation condo and the plan was to take the dogs out every day. I did not want to go; I was too nervous. I was worried that something else may happen and I would be far from home. I did feel more comfortable having the dogs, that is, the “whole” family with us.
My husband felt that going was still a good idea. He thought it showed support that we would not be terrorized by the events. Our Dobermans enjoy trips to the beach. So we decided we all could use some “away” time. It was an emotional trip. Flags on the overpasses, the candle light vigil on Friday night as we drove up 95, let alone the people talking about the event and the “God Bless Americas” that were being exchanged instead of “Hellos”. I needed a puppy hug every once in a while, and was glad that the dogs were with us.
Raven was an 8 yr old Doberman and retired from the obedience show ring. Well, Raven did not care that much for obedience showing; but because she loves her Mom, she tolerated it. I no longer felt comfortable having her do jumps. I was looking for something else we could do together. She is a marvelous girl and loves people. In May 2001, she was tested as at therapy dog through Therapy Dog International. In August, we got her paperwork completed and she was ready to go. Our boy, Trevor, is a rescued Doberman. He had 6 homes by the time he was 13 months old. We fostered him and rehabilitated him to be a good and loving dog. We kept Trevor thinking that if he were re-homed he would relapse. He was ours for 14 months when he was diagnosed with bone cancer and we had to amputate his back leg.
Once in Maine, we took the dogs out on the Beach every day. Raven is a great dog; she wanted to greet everyone she saw and they wanted to meet her too. She quickly made friends and had “regulars” that knew her. Trevor is our wild man. He loved to chase birds, so he played a game of “sneak” trying to outwit the seagulls and sand pipers. He loves to run and he would run in circles as far as his flexi would let him. He would slide and “wipe out” in the sand, but he would jump up, bark, and he was ready to go again. We laughed at his beach antics. When people came up to meet Trevor they were shocked to see that he was missing a leg. They could not imagine that a dog without a leg was running and that he was so happy. The missing leg did not faze this boy and his amputation was only 3 months old. He was so happy to be on the beach; he was all smiles.
On our last day of vacation, a woman approached us and wanted to take the dogs’ pictures. She was from Connecticut and came to the ocean for some quiet time to recoup from the events of September 11th. She said that the dogs were open to all people regardless of who they were; (I guess she was not familiar with canine unconditional love) and that Trevor was amazing; despite his disability he grasped live with a vigor, every moment was full of affection and excitement. She enjoyed watching the bond that my husband and I had with our Dobermans and it made her forget her worries and taught her to enjoy the simple things that life offers. She wanted to take that memory with her when she went home. Well, the dogs posed for her photo, but I really wanted a photo of her taking a photo of my dobes!! She was reminding us of what a special thing we have with these marvelous creatures.
That interaction pressed me even more to get Raven started as a therapy dog. She is great at it, a real natural. She brings quite a bit of happiness to many lives. I am so proud of her and her ability to share herself so willingly and freely
As to Trevor, I have hopes that he will continue to thrive and can be a therapy dog too. He is a great example of a cancer survivor. He reminds me to live in the present and enjoy things that come my way.
As to my Dobes, well, they did not have to go into the Firehouses, Hospitals, Red Cross shelters or even Ground Zero to give therapy to those that were impacted by that event. They did it on a beach in Maine. I am sure that others were providing their own type of therapy too, in their own backyards.
You can click on any of the titles below to read the essay:
The Doberman and Cowboy ·
September 11 ·
Max the Rescue
· Paws Claws Scales and Tails
· Winter of 2006
· Mesu
· The Eggnog Doberman
· Dolphie