Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Spirit of America: Look at Dogs Who Are Heroes of Ground Zero
Aired October 12, 2001 - 08:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Since September 11th, we have heard the stories of heroes, and families, but from the stories of the people we turn now to the stories of the pets, and the folks who are working to help animals caught up in the tragedy at the Twin Towers. Their efforts are captured in an original TV program called "Animal Precinct at Ground Zero."
Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a dangerous climb. Like all the apartments in the frozen zone, there is no electricity and the air is thick with dust. But to the relief of the owner, the owner is safe and sound.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just for a little bit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks so much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: All right. "Animal Precinct" airs tonight on Animal Planet on cable. With us today is the producer of documentary, Paul Berris. Also with us is Tina Salaks, with the ASPCA and Humane Law Enforcement Agency. Welcome to two of you.
All right, if you would provide us context for what we just saw. You -- individual homeowners have not been able to get back into apartments call you all, and say, look, I want to rescue my daughter my cat.
TINA SALAKS, ASPCA: Right. We have been working with the Office of Emergency Management to coordinate an appropriate time when we could get into people's apartments, when it was declared safe, and escort the owners back into apartment to get their animals out, and people have been waiting, some as many was to or three days, to get in and get their animals out.
ZAHN: How traumatic was it for these people. SALAKS: Very traumatic. The only thing you work with people and tell them, it's not as bad as you think, we do this on a daily basis. We take animals out of bad environments all the time that have gone much longer without food and water, and for the most part, their mostly OK, unless they have a prior medical condition. And these people are very relieved to see their animals were okay. Just a little dehydration basically was the biggest thing we found.
ZAHN: Now, Paula, you were in the middle of filming this documentary on September 11. And you got the call that something bad had gone down at the World Trade Centers, and you followed some of these ASPCA workers into the mess. Describe to us what happened, and show us what you brought today?
PAUL BERRIS, PRODUCER, "ANIMAL PRECINCT": I was in agency office at the ASPCA here. We're doing a 15-part series about them, and I had been with them for seven months before the 11th, filming daily work with animal abuse. I heard that a plane had gone in, so I grabbed my camera team and we went down there, and we managed to get underneath the south tower, and obviously at that point, we knew this was a very, very may incident, so I started filming with the fire commissioner underneath the south tower when it exploded and fell on top of us, and then I captured the building actually falling down on us, and it hit me, and it hit camera, and this is all that is left of the camera at the moment.
ZAHN: Maybe a tight close up here as we talk. You are lucky this wasn't pulverized.
BERRIS: Yes, yes, but I wasn't out of the picture, as far as this particular movie goes, but the work that Tina and my colleagues are doing is quite amazing, and this is just one of the daily routines that they do.
ZAHN: Why don't we show everybody out there watching the lengths that you all had go to make sure that dogs who were involved in rescue efforts stayed healthy. Let's look at that clip right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Downtown, just blocks away from ground zero, the Suffolk County with other animal welfare organizations. They called their unit Mash.
He is being given special boots to protect him from the rubble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep iron, steel, the sharp steel out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's Almost ready for action.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got a straight, steady attitude, and he just goes...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a precaution against the heat, all the dogs are being rehydrated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's kind of got a laid back attitude right now, but despite that, he does work, and he works really well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Getting a cool collar for today. Oh, yes. You will be very stylish out there. All the other dogs will be jealous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They take excellent care of the dogs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: That's amazing what you all went through to make sure those dogs could do what they needed to do. Final thought on what these dogs were exposed -- we know what the rescue workers were exposed to. A lot of these dogs got hurt.
BERRIS: The dogs are actually going in much further than rescuers, because of their build, they can obviously get through all the wreckage, but I don't know, I think I think they're still man's best friend really, you know, and will continue to be, and I think that they are doing great work, and I think that there still there at the moment searching.
ZAHN: We applaud for you great work you are doing.
BERRIS: Thank you.
ZAHN: Can you give us a quick final thought of how important is?
SALAKS: We depend greatly on the K-9 units, and I understand that as many as 14 different states had sent people to help us, so we appreciate all the help from different agencies that they did come with their dogs, and certainly will not go unrewarded.
ZAHN: We appreciate the great lengths you have gone to, to help us better understand what you and the animals were up against down there.
Tina, Paul, thank you, and good luck with the series tonight. That once again airing on Animal Planet.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
