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NEW YORK CITY (USA)
— Four months ago, Port Authority Police Officer
David Lim was in the basement below the World Trade Center when the first
explosion hit Tower One. Officer Lim put his 4-year-old Yellow Lab
partner "Sirius" into his crate and raced upstairs to
investigate.
His last words to Sirius were: "You
stay there. I'll be back for you."
Officer David Lim and Sirius
(Photo: F.A.S.T.)
Neither David nor anyone in the world
could have expected both towers to collapse on September 11, 2001,
claiming thousands of human lives and one dog's. Sirius became the
one canine casualty of the WTC terrorist attack.
That morning, Officer Lim raced up 43
flights of stairs to assist and direct the fleeing individuals when the
evacuation began. He was helping to carry a woman down near the fourth
or fifth floor when the tower collapsed and buried them. "It was like an
avalanche," he describes. "We were just waiting there to
die."
Officer Lim was himself rescued that
afternoon just after 3pm. Nobody kept count on how many people he
had been able to help escape, but unfortunately one individual very dear
to him didn't make it out. David made several attempts to get back
to the basement were Sirius was crated, but firefighters and officers at
that point were trying to secure the scene and would not allow re-entry.
In addition, doctors would not allow Officer Lim to search at "the
pile" because of the emotional toll it could have taken on him.
But he kept tabs on the rescue effort, checking in periodically to ask
whether they had made it to the kennel area. Finally last week, the
call came: they had found Sirius. Investigators said that the dog
had died instantly when the kennel collapsed.
On Thursday, under full honors, complete
with a prayer and a salute, the body of Sirius was removed from the
wreckage.
"There was a flag over his bag and I
carried him out with another officer, John Martin," says Officer
Lim. "Everyone saluted. All the machinery was
stopped—the same thing that is done for human police officers and
firefighters. I thought it was very nice."
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Photo, quotes and information are
courtesy of David Lim, the F.A.S.T.
Co. website and Lulu. For the full account, visit an excellent
tribute to Sirius and Dave: "One
Got By Us".
Feel free to share
your thoughts and condolences with Dave via email:
DWLIM@aol.com
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Of course, all dogs go to heaven, and
it has never been so true as with noble Sirius the World Trade Center
K-9. So, tragic as this story is, we'd like to leave you with
an important reminder...
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The
Top 8 Questions Dogs Ask God When They Get to Heaven
- Dear God, are there
mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to
apologize?
- Dear God, when we get
to Heaven, can we sit on your couch? Or is it the same
old story?
- Dear God, is it true
that in Heaven, dining room tables have on-ramps?
- Dear God, when we get
to the Pearly Gates, do we have to shake hands to get
in?
- Dear God, if a dog barks
his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a bad dog?
- Dear God, more meatballs,
less spaghetti, please.
- Dear God, are there
dogs on other planets or are we alone? I have been
howling at the moon and stars for a long time, but all I
ever hear back is the beagle across the street!
and
the #1 Question Dogs Ask God When They Get to Heaven is...
- Dear God, about that
neutering... can I have them back now?
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Welcome home, Sirius.
Special Thanks to "Sarah" &
"Flame",
the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels from Australia who helped us compile
"Dog Letters to God"!
§§§
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