Roselle, a guide dog who led her partner, Michael Hingson, from the 78th floor of the World Trade Center and away from the collapsing buildings to safety on 9/11 is hanging up her harness.
The Yellow Labrador Retriever will spend the rest of her life as a pet in the Hingson home in northern California and will volunteer as a good will ambassador, greeting visitors to the campus of her alma mater, Guide Dogs for the Blind.
On March 9, San Rafael-California-based Guide Dogs for the Blind threw a retirement party for Roselle, complete with a 21-gun salute.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Roselle was asleep under Hingson’s desk in the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks, and helped lead Hingson, who is blind, down the 78 flights of stairs, to the street and through a hazy maze of debris and chaos.
But the inhalation of particulates outside the World Trade Center eventually took its toll on Roselle, and she now has to retire due to a blood disorder. Her place as Hingson’s guide dog is being taken by a male dog named Merrill.
Although Roselle is retiring, Hingson will continue his current work — speaking appearances where he talks about guide dogs, misperceptions of the blind and the value of trust and teamwork.