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8B - The Michigan Day - Weekend, etc. Magazin "- Thursday, September 2 2001

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The Michigan DO Y -- Weekend, etc. Magazine



The.1,w.Ichig a J . Va~v'a- W eed t. a azinaa

Fourlegged

heroes

A Photostory by
Marjorie Marshall

In addition to the many people
who assisted in the clean up following
the recent tragedies in New York and
Washington, one can't overlook the
four-legged heroes of the search and
rescue teams.
These K-9 heroes - who are
divided into two groups, cadaver and
rescue - are often the first on the
scene. They are manned by a team of
volunteer police officers and federal
agents to aid iri the location of people
who are buried under the debris.
There are only three units like this
in the country. There are 300 dogs on
the search and rescue teams. So far
150 dogs have been treated for various
injuries since last Tuesday.
The veterinary medical assistance
team provided needed medical attention
for the dogs. This included on site

surgery, eye cleaning, paw cleaning,
bathing and sutures for wounds sus-
tained during the search effort to help
bring closure to families and friends who
lost loved ones.
Suffolk County SPCA supplies a
mobile hospital and veterinarians from all
over the country volunteer time to care
for the dogs. All of the supplies come
out of the pockets of the volunteers.
They currently are in need of an X-
ray machine, booties for the dogs' paws,
and financial donations. If you can help,
contact:
State of New York
Suffolk County SPCA
Law Enforcement Division
363 Route 111
Suite 5
Smithtown, NY 11787
Office: (631) 382-7722