14 WTC search and rescue dogs dead

[kskiska]

Fourteen search and rescue dogs have died since their exposure to toxic rubble from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack - including eight from cancer, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. But researchers believe there is no connection between the deaths and the chemicals they were exposed to.

Despite the study's findings, some of the owners whose dogs have died still blame the toxic brew the dogs immersed themselves in during the hunt for survivors and remains.

"We can't find any link at this point that ties the 14 deaths to events of Sept. 11," said Dr. Cynthia Otto, the study's lead researcher. "Some have passed away, but the causes of death are no different than in the control group. That is good news."

Otto's team, which has been monitoring the health of 97 dogs who worked at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, did find "significantly higher" antibodies in the search dogs in the first year after the terrorist attack.

more…
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/224459p-192814c.html

[WindRavenX]

1. how sad

Bless those kind and heroic dogs :(

[alittlelark]

2. No connection - the dogs were already unstable

really, they were. We have the documentation to prove it. Why were mentally unstable dogs being used?

Hey!!!! Isn't that KOBEJACKSONPETERSON etal exiting the courtroom!!!!


Sure, the air was safe, really....yeah.

[lebkuchen]

16. The connection was that they were all at the WTC

right in the toxic mix.

That's good enough for me.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[robcon]

3. No news

""We can't find any link at this point that ties the 14 deaths to events of Sept. 11," said Dr. Cynthia Otto, the study's lead researcher. "Some have passed away, but the causes of death are no different than in the control group. That is good news."

In other words, there is no story.

[Piperay]

6. They'll claim the same

no connection crap when people start dying too, that's just going to take longer.

[madmax]

41. Yep...Just like Agent Orange and Depleted Uranium are bogus

Just ask the government...they'll tell you the truth. NOT!!

I saw a young man in Border's yesterday reading a copy of Abbie Hoffman's 'Steal This Book'. We need another new generation of skeptics. Bless you Abbie where ever you are.

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

42. What's missing

They say that the causes of death are no different than the control group, but nowhere do they say how the death rate compares. That's just as important and they only let you assume that since there is "no connection" then the death rate is the same.

[Dancing_Dave]

4. Here's the covered-up truth about WTC demolition health effects

And you better bet it's coming out in New York City right now!

http://www.nyenvirolaw.org/PDF/Kupferman-Chapter-in-LOST-LIBERTIES.pdf

"The Public Health Fallout of September 11: Official Deception and Long Term Damage"

[alphafemale]

5. Sad. But it's been three years folks. That can be a long time for a dog.

I do fear that abestos poisoning will rear it's head eventually, though.

[krkaufman]

10. 3 years isn't long at all for a dog...

... unless the dogs were already old. It's hard to take anything away from the story without knowing the ages of the poor pooches -- but I'm reminded that our dear gov't had also said the air was fine at Ground Zero, and that Agent Orange wasn't a problem, and that Gulf War Syndrome is a myth.

[Scairp]

13. I tend to agree

Dogs get cancer too, it just kills them faster than it does people. My beloved Old English had cancer, and she was only 10. I would say that unless at least half of the dogs used at Ground Zero die of illness then there is no way anyone can say it's related.

Asbestos is probably going to be a problem some years down the road. Unfortunately, that will be the only way to prove that the present administration was lying about the air quality after the towers fell.

[SoCalDem]

14. Large breed dogs live 10-12 yrs max..

They undergo a lengthy training period before they would be of the calibre of these search dogs..If they finished their training at age 2 (not uncommon), they usually retire them at around 6 or 7 due to arthritic conditions (common in large dogs also).. That meant that these dogs who were exposed were in their PRIME, probably 3-5 yrs.

These are very pampered and well taken care of dogs.. They usually retire them to the handler's home where they live out the last 3-4 years of their life..

The WTC exposure cut their lifespans by ONE THIRD..that's a BIG DEAL..

Compared to humans, it's like taking off 25 years or so.. That's NOT a good thing..

[lostnfound]

27. Unlikely they would be using 9 - 11 year old dogs at the WTC, right?

I suspected they would mostly be fully-grown but not more than 'middle-age'.

[SoCalDem]

30. They would have probably been 3-6 at the time of exposure..

so 3 years later, their deaths would be premature.. considering the "good life" they lead..These dogs are well fed, loved sheltered and seen by vets a lot.. They are not the "chained in the back yard, sleeping on concrete" dogs who die young..

Our mother lab lived to be 13..and her daughter to 11...

We donated one of our puppies to be a seeing eye dog, and she graduated from training at around 18 months and was a working dog until she was about 7..she became a pampered pet after that..

[RhodaGrits]

29. This group was paired with age equivalent dogs that were NOT

at the WTC. There was no difference between the two groups at this time. Granted, the study continues and there may be an increased incidence overall but you cannot say that based on the data at this time. We get furious when the media distorts the facts with eye-grabbing headlines and this would have been better titled differently - 14/97 of the S&R dogs have died since 9/11/2002 and that is not the story. I will be surprised if there isn't a slight increase in the incidence of cancer etc but so far, so good.

But thanking you for linking to the story, I hadn't seen it yet and it was actually cheering. I know a lot of people that were at the pile and I'm worried about their longterm health. My physical therapist's part-time asst. was a NYC fire fighter 4da/wk down there and he was ravaged by lung disease after. I am still furious w/ Bushco for lying to the rescue, clean-up and area residents about the risk level at that site.

[Sterling]

39. I live in DT NYC and since 9-11

I have developed uper resp. problems. Kinda feels like someone is standing on my chest when I try to breathe. For about a month after the attack it burned my throat and sinuses to breathe the air. It was obvious the air was not safe and they lied to us so they would not by liable for evacuating the city.

[kori]

36. Older search dogs pressed into service

I remember reading at the time that the search and rescue teams were stretched so thin that "retired" dogs were pressed back into service. As the study was reported there was no difference between the control group and the search dogs. They did age pair those dogs for this study so while that 14/97 number may seem high, it apparently is not out of line with the control group.

I do not trust the EPA findings that it was safe either. I fear for friends and our citizens exposed to this hazard. However, do not fall into the trap that any study that does not show a problem must be a cover-up. Think for a second before responding and condemning. One of the major fears cited here is for asbestos related cancer. That kind of cancer is called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is defined as:

a rare form of carcinoma of the mesothelium lining lungs or abdomen or heart; usually associated with exposure to asbestos dust

That kind of cancer can take decades to develop. I know dogs are good animals to do human comparative studies on with many diseases. I do not know that one of those diseases is mesothelioma. I do not know that a dogs shortened life span over a human would allow that kind of cancer to take hold. It may, I just do not know that. So while I am glad that the dogs at this point do not seem to have a decreased life expectancy over a control group, that neither says that humans will not or that they will. DO not jump to conclusions and do not attack everything you read, question, think but not everything is a conspiracy

[progressivebydesign]

37. 3 years.. only if the dog was 12 when they did the search..

.. which I doubt. Most were probably under 6 when they searched.. at their prime. Dogs die from cancer and things much faster.. of course. Dogs owned by people who chemically treat their lawns.. and dogs of smokers, who smoke around their pet a lot also die of cancer at a high rate..

This story does not surprise me. It saddens, but not shocks.

[SoCalDem]

7. ASBESTOS... That was the first thing that popped into my head

when I saw that cloud literally chasing those people down the street..

In the 1960's EVERYTHING had asbestos in it.. ceiling tiles,roofing materials, floor tiles.. they sprayed it onto steel girders.. it was in the insulation..

Hell.. Sears & Penneys ballyhooed the daylights out of their asbestos kitchen oven mitts and pot holders,,even children's clothing was treated with something called TRIS, that was carcinogenic, but flame retardant like asbestos)


Asbestos was Grrrrrrrreat.. UNTIL we found out it had this slight "downside"....cancer!

New Yorkers breathed in a LOT of toxic soup for months...and may still be breathing it when the wind blows.. Look for Mesothelioma rates to skyrocket in about 10-20 years.. (But Christie Todd Whitman, the noted scientist :eyes: and mr bush himself said the air was "just fabulous"..

Poor sweet doggies.. just doing their jobs.. Keep a few fingers crossed for the handlers :(

[mahina]

17. OTOH

not to diminish in any way the sufferinge and sacrifice of anybody, four feet or two. But just so you know-
We were still using asbestos ceiling material here long after it was banned on the mainland. They just shipped it over here, even though it was illegal here too. The guys were were covered in that stuff all day every day 25 years ago are still walking around today.
In case it eases your mind at all.
Aloha

[SoCalDem]

19. Not at ease at all.. Just like the banned pesticides that we send

to foreign countries...and then we IMPORT THE FRUITS & VEGGIES...D'OH !!!


We are penny wise and pound foolish...

I was doused with DDT... TWICE a day for 8 years, as a child.. Fog so thick we had to wipe the furniture down after each pass by the fogger.. Everything in the house was grease-coated by DDT..(We had no glass in our windows..just metal louvers and screen material)

[Eurobabe]

24. in meantime look for 100-fold rise in autoimmune diseases

from exposure to toxic chemicals! combo of stress and poisonous 'soup' in the air after 9-11.

[FlaGranny]

34. My husband has had exposure to asbestos

and we DO worry about it. He was exposed in the 1960s, cleaning windows in a factory where asbestos shingles were made. He was exposed twice a month for a few years. He said when he came out of there, clouds of asbestos dust would go airborn from his clothing and no doubt he inhaled clouds of it too. He said that at the time, there were lots of anecdotal stories about many workers at that plant dying of lung cancer. So it's just wait and see for him - so far, so good.

[GOPAgainstGW]

8. Study is total Bush-Cheney style White Wash and BS

Of course their is a link!!!!!!!

I'm a PhD-clinical and human biochemistry, with many friends that were involved in some of the post 9/11 studies. There was a massive toxin load in the air, and in the rubble after those two WTC buildings went down. I mean just massive! A person with the IQ of a 3 minute egg could understand this.

That study is just another government and insurance company cover-up, to be used to deny all the injury and long-term disability claims from the people working at the scene after that horrible disaster.End of Discussion.

Unlike cats, dogs have very similar internal systems to humans. They are a good case study in a situation like this. No scientist with integrity would make a statement like those idiots in this article.

God, look at all the massive lung damage and serious long-term disease complications being experienced by close to 30% of the immediate workers after the disaster. Guess these “experts” are going to ignore this also and say there is no connection.

This would be a great campaign stump for Kerry-Edwards, that we as a Country are NOT going to ignore these post 9/11 workers that were injured doing their duty for their Country and loved ones!

All Bush-Cheney care about is lining their corporate buddies pockets and denying liability.
.
.
Republican Against Bush-Cheney ’04 - NKR

[Dancing_Dave]

9. Thank you very much!

It's really great to have a smart citizen like you in this forum!
:)

[Swamp Rat]

12. Welcome to DU!

And what about U.S. soldiers and Iraqi citizens? Isn't the U.S. military saturating Iraq with depleated uranium?

[Skittles]

15. hey GOPAGW

make a clean break from those nasty republicans. :hi:

[leftchick]

20. Welcome to DU....

GOPAgainstGW... :toast:... Excellent post....

My new favorite line...."A person with the IQ of a 3 minute egg could understand this."

:)

[Kukesa]

25. Welcome to DU -- from Ohio! n/t

[Mnemosyne]

26. Thank you!!! n/t and WELCOME to DU!!!

[RhodaGrits]

31. Nonsense. This was a carefully controlled

study. What they said was the preliminary data showed no difference between the control group and the WTC search and rescue dogs. Only 14/97 dogs have died. The study has a LONG way to go. This is not a cover up, just a statement of facts. See my post above. I read the study proposal early on because they asked me as a veterinarian in the region where the S&R dogs lived if I had any patients that could participate in the study. They tried to get all the dogs there enrolled and carefully matched them with controls.

I do think that there were cover-up crimes here but this isn't one of them. I'm worried sick about my friends and neighbors that were there that day and in the months that followed. Don't let your anger slam good people trying to do solid research.

And you are right, dogs make great animal models for human disease. This could be an important study.

[merh]

47. Welcome to DU & thanks for your post.

:hi:

[Norbert]

11. Around here a dog and patrolman went to ground zero

to help.

The dog was a big help but after a while the patrolman had to stop. It seems the dog started to suffer some sort of depression. He said it was because of the duty, smelling for human remains and so much of it somehow confused and overwealmed it. Last I heard he was considering retiring the well-trained dog because he wasn't sure the dog was up to the task anymore. Dogs aren't stupid.

Terrible shame about the search dogs. I hope the dogs aren't like canaries to coal miners. It could be far reaching if this is true.

[RhodaGrits]

45. One story that gave me chills was from one S&R dog handler that said that

on 9/11 he raced down to NYC to try to help. As he approached the Tappan Zee Bridge, still a LONG way from the WTC towers... the dog started alerting that he had detected the scent of cadavers. The humans and dogs that were there will be carrying the trauma from that horrific time all their days.

[Leilani]

18. What a sad, sad story....

At the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show that took place following 9/11, the rescue dogs were honored.

Each dog & handler was announced by name, & then circled the arena at Madison Square Garden...it was so moving...there was a standing ovation & the cheers & applause lasted quite long.

As a dog lover, it just broke me up.

[slor]

21. No story here folks...

those dogs clearly hated freedom...and they looked French too.

[PCIntern]

22. Right after 9/11

There appeared a letter in the NYT (sorry, no l ink) which was written by a pulmonologist. He said that every single citizen downwind of the catastrophe should get a chest X-ray every year to screen for lung disease.

He was absolutely correct, but it won't happen because it is not economically feasible AND, more importantly, we wouldn't want the genereal public to know that what happened at ground zero was the true equivalent of a nuclear detnation, with all of the concomitant after-effects. OK, you don't get radiation poisoning and death, you get lung CA, asbestosis, and death.

What a true horror.

[Cooley Hurd]

23. Very sad...

Rest in peace, little friends... :(

[dumpster_baby]

28. Use this against that smug f*ck, Guiliani

as proof that he lied about the safety of the air....

[mbperrin]

32. I'd like to see the study and see 97 dogs from far away who

searched through the rubble of demolished buildings and did have a death rate of 14/97 in the same period of time.

This article describes such a study. Anyone seen it? Or is this just another "some people say" cover the asses of the insurance companies against claims Band-aid?

I'd deeply suspect that. But other than the millions of incidents of lying for money that the current mismalnonadministration has committed, I don't have any reason to think so.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

35. did find "significantly higher" antibodies in the search dogs

antibodies to "what" I would ask. In humans asbestos can take up to 30 years to do its work. This brings me back to the issue of how much $$ it would have taken to do asbestos abatement in those two towers. So many questions... it will most likely remain a mystery in so many different ways.....

Dolphins and harbour seals that have beached... have often fallen to simple bacteria and virus and the levels of PCB's and other toxic chemicals were rather high in these animals... putting a hurting on their immune response.... thus making them susceptible to what they used to fend off quite handily. I like a president who understands so readily the effects of environmental pollutants... how far they range and how deadly they have been.

Anyhoo... I have spoken with a couple (firefighters both) who were at the scene... they aren't doing so well... met them in Fl... they have moved to Canada to live out what they have left... sad but true..... a young couple at that.....

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11227817

Ecotoxicology. 2001 Feb;10(1):5-23. Related Articles, Links
Immunotoxicity in invertebrates: measurement and ecotoxicological relevance.

Galloway TS, Depledge MH.

Plymouth Environmental Research Centre (Biological Sciences), University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, United Kingdom.

Concern is growing regarding the impact of chemicals suspected of altering the function of the immune system in humans and wildlife. There are numerous examples of links between pollution and increased susceptibility to disease in wildlife species, including immunosuppression in harbour seals feeding on fish from contaminated sites, altered immune function in riverine fish and decreased host resistance in birds exposed to pollutants. Laboratory tests have identified potential immunological hazards posed by a range of anthropogenic chemicals in mammals and higher vertebrates. However, few reports have considered the ecological relevance of pollution-induced immunosuppression in invertebrate phyla, which constitute around 95% of all animal species and occupy key structural and functional roles in ecosystems. In this paper effects of chemicals on immune function in invertebrates are briefly reviewed and biomarkers of immunotoxicity are identified. Examples of new approaches for the measurement of immunological inflammatory reactions and stress in molluscan haemocytes are detailed. The relevance of defining the immune system as a target organ of toxicity in invertebrates is discussed and an integrated approach for the use of immunological biomarkers in environment management is proposed, combining measures of immune function and organismal viability at the biochemical, cellular and population level.

Publication Types:

* Review
* Review, Tutorial


PMID: 11227817

[progressivebydesign]

38. I agree..

.. the antibodies are there in response to something. It's a stress on your immune system, which leaves you open for a host of diseases, bacterias, etc. Ask anyone who has had chemo or leukemia or AIDS, a compromised immune system is not normal.. and these dogs had an altered immune response.

[Sterling]

40. Good question.

It seems that it was a very convienent attack in that regard. It seems to have saved the city state and fed gov a lot of money.

Instead of having to spend the billions to refit the old WTC and face the possible liability that a demolition or refiting would make the air toxic to the people of the city OBL took care of that problem for them.


I wonder what that could mean?

[tom_paine]

43. But...but...the Imperial Amerika Gouvernment said the air was clean and

fresh!

Fresh as a smokestack at a Hallibvurton refinery, and that should be good enough for you Traitorous New Yorkers and your Traitorous Liberal Dogs, who probably got just what they deserved.

</sarcasm off>

[RhodaGrits]

44. self delete

[Hobarticus]

46. With BushScience, there's no connection!

Condoms don't prevent AIDS.

Heavy deforestation doesn't cause global warming.

Drink this Kool-Aid...

[PopSixSquish]

48. How Very Sad

I remember reading stories after 9/11 about the search and rescue dogs. How they had burns on their paws, their eyes and noses were covered in dirt and grime. Many were simply so exhausted and depressed that their handlers had to have other "live" people lie down in the wreckage so the dog could make a "good find" and be rewarded.

The search and rescue dogs want to find people alive. That's what they are trained for.

There were other stories about counselers bringing therapy dogs to the centers where people were looking for news of their loved ones. People would just throw their arms around these doggies and sob.

These little guys/gals are angels. May they rest in peace.