“Tales from Ground Zero”
Tonight on Animal Planet at 10
4 wagging doggies
NO doubt about the fact that this will be – especially for us New Yorkers – a holiday season of horribly mixed emotions.
If, somehow we came out of 9/11 with all our immediate friends and family, should we celebrate that – or instead not celebrate anything, in honor of those thousands of families who weren’t so lucky?
It’s not so much a moral question as an emotional one that will be made all over New York this holiday season. Tonight’s Animal Planet documentary, “Tales from Ground Zero,” was for me one of the deciding factors.
While each real-life tale from the disaster is heartwarming, each one made me remember that no, it’s not over, and no, this disaster can’t be fixed instantly.
There are several tales – one of a mom and her teenage son who left their apartment for work and school that day only to have their world collapse when the Trade Centers did.
Their apartment, right near Ground Zero, was cordoned off by authorities and they were unable to get to their dog. Finally, sneaking through the barriers, the mother got to her devastated apartment which was filled with lung-choking dust inches thick to search for their dog. When she got there, the dog was still alive, hiding and still waiting for her family to come home.
There’s a once-pampered cat who lived 18 days before being rescued by the super who found her hiding on the roof.
There are tales of a blind man and his guide dog who were trapped in the WTC and how the dog helped not only his owner but others who couldn’t see through the blackness and the dust make their way out.
There’s the story of the woman who ran from the site and lost one of her pugs in the blackness, only to have it returned to her through the kindness of strangers.
There’s the young woman who lost her fiancé – a fireman – who was saving up to buy her a dachshund puppy, but who died in the attack before he could do that. This is the story of how the men in his fire company all pitched in to buy her that puppy.
There are tales of rescue dogs and therapy dogs and the firehouse-mascot dog who’s still waiting for his best friend, a lost fireman, to come home.
Heartwarming and uplifting – in terms of how the human spirit can be melted by animals – this show also brings home the fact that this is a disaster that is still only a few months old.
It made me realize again that no matter how brave a city we are – it’s not all fine. Ther are stories that will go on for many years before we are really healed.
Now this is a real holiday special.
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