Local K-9 rescue group called to duty
By Sandy Britt

The catastrophic and horrifying events of September 11 shocked the world and changed the lives of Americans forever.
For veterinarian Rita Tinsley of the Stewart County Animal Clinic in Dover, the day brought a call to duty-a call asking her to put into action what she’s trained a decade to do: use specially trained dogs in the search, rescue and recovery of people lost through accidents and disasters.
Though Tinsley spends her days tending to family pets at her clinic and assisting the Humane Society of Dover-Stewart County, she’s also the captain and founder of the Stewart County K-9 Unit, and all-volunteer nonprofit organization that uses dogs for search and rescue missions.

September 11
Tinsley first heard about the terrorist attacks when a member of her K-9 team called September 11. He told her to turn on her TV and immediately asked if their team would go.
“I had no idea at that point what was going on,” says Tinsley. “When I turned on the TV, I felt like so many others did, that I was watching a movie. It wasn’t real. Gradually the reality and the horror sunk in as I sat mesmerized, watching.”
Tinsley and her 10-year-old black Labrador search dog, Bella, along with other unit members of the Barren River Area Search Dog Association of Bowling Green, Ky, geared up to assist with rescue and recovery operations at the World Trade Center. The New York City Police Department Incident command had requested the group’s assistance on September 17, asking them to send five cadaver detection dogs, handlers and seven support personnel.
The team flew to New York on September 20 and began work on September 21.
“We had a team of 12 people and five dogs,” says Tinsley. “Dog handlers included myself as team bet, a physicians assistant from Paducah, a paramedic from Franklin, Ky., a nurse from Vanderbilt and a school bus driver from Bowling Green.”
Tinsley says she was initially apprehensive about going to the scene of the attacks and had “nightmare visions” of working at Ground Zero.
“My son, Joe Simmons, didn’t want me to go. He feared secondary attacks. About 24 hours later, I was called with mission details. We’d be working at the Fresh Kills Landfill site on Staten Island where tons of debris from the World Trade Center were being trucked. I explained to my son that I’d trained for this for 10 years and that I had to go,” says Tinsley.
The days before departure were filled with frantic packing of search gear and veterinary supplies. Since conditions at the site were unknown, searchers packed for any conceivable circumstance.
“Vet supplies included everything from eye ointments and bandages to surgery packs and IV fluids. Our team carried 1000 pounds of gear,” says Tinsley.
On the day of departure, Tinsley and Bella awoke at 2 a.m. to prepare for a 6 a.m. departure from the airport in Bowling Green, KY., as fog prevented flying out of Nashville. Tinsley’s K-9 group teamed up the Angel Flight Private Volunteer Pilots.
“We were flown to Newark, N.J., in volunteered private prop jets,” says Tinsley. “Each plane carried one dog, one handler and one support person.”

Arrival in New York
A bus escorted by state police transported the group to the city. Bridges and highways were shut down to routine traffic, with police cars blocking side streets ahead of the bus caravans as they headed for Homeport Naval Base on Staten Island. Upon arrival at the center where volunteers were housed, searchers received food, hard hats, dog supplies, rain gear, respirators, clothing and other specialized rescue equipment.
“One teammate who’d been there 24 hours said to be careful what you asked for because you’d get a hundred,” says Tinsley of the generosity they received.
A New York Fire Department chaplain arranged for the group to move to move to a troop transport ship, the USS Denebola, positioned in New York Harbor so they’d have roomier accommodations. The National Guard transported the group and their gear to the ship.
“I was told I was needed at the landfill immediately, so Bella and I along with Nurse Tracy Noble and her German Shepherd, Sky, were loaded onto an Army truck and taken to the landfill in the rain,” says Tinsley.
Security was extremely tight, with numerous checkpoints and photo identification mandatory. Tents for the FBI, NYPD, rescuers, forensics teams and support personnel dotted the hellish landscape. Tinsley’s group worked along side more than 200 investigators, forensics teams and dental experts.
Within three days, concrete floors for the food tent, a chaplain’s tent and Red Cross tent were added. The K-9 area sported tarp walls, drink coolers, microwaves, food, donated K-9 items, tables and cots. Rescue International provided decontamination baths for workers; Tinsley had packed the drug Chlorhexaderm to decontaminate their dogs.
When working, searchers donned protective Tyvek suits covered with yellow rain suits, helmets, double gloves and respirators. Dogs’ paws were securely bandaged with layers of vetwrap to protect their delicate pads from the jagged, dangerous terrain.
“We wore double boots which made our feet heavy and hard to move well. Methane gas was bubbling up out of the ground everywhere. We found the heavy respirators didn’t work well because you couldn’t communicate verbally with your dog. After checking with the EPA, we switched to paper respirators that we could talk through,” says Tinsley of the challenges searchers face daily.