Dorado My Guide Dog
Edward Rivera was unfortunate enough to find himself on the 71st floor of the World Trade Center north tower when the hijacked airliner struck the building 25 floors
above him.  Mr. Rivera, a computer technician who is blind, was in his office
with his guide dog "Dorado" lying under the desk at the time.
 
"I stood up and I could hear how pieces of glass were flying around and falling.
 I could feel the smoke filling up my lungs and the heat was just unbearable.
 
"Not having any sight I knew I wouldn't be able to run down the stairs and
through all the obstacles like other people.  I was resigned to dying and decided to free Dorado
 to give him a chance of escape. It wasn't fair that we should both die in that hell.
 
"I thought I was lost forever-the noise and the heat were terrifying-but I had to give Dorado
 the chance of escape.  So I unclipped his lead, ruffled his head,
gave him a nudge and ordered Dorado to go.
 
"I hoped he would be able to quickly run down the stairs without me and get to safety.
I thought he'd be so scared he'd run.  Everything was in chaos. Glass was shattering around
my head and people were rushing past down the stairs."
 
At that point, Dorado was swept away by the rush of people fleeing down the stairs,
and Mr. Rivera found himself on his own amid the pandemonium.  But then the unexpected occurred,
in the form of a familiar, fuzzy nudge.
 
Mr. Rivera explained, He returned to my side a few minutes later and guided me down 70 flights
and out into the street, it was amazing.  It was then I knew for certain he loved me
just as much as I loved him. He was prepared to die in the hope he might save my life."
 
Inside the stairwell, they found additional assistance from a co-worker. 
"I took hold of her arm. She went down on my right side and Dorado on my left," said Mr. Rivera.
The narrow stairwell was extremely crowded, and confusion made the situation worse. 
 
"People were pushing and shoving past me.  Everywhere there was a sense of terror."
 
But order gradually prevailed: "Most people behaved quite prudently and grasped
what was happening, so we walked down in an orderly fashion,
 but it was slow going.  It was slow going because there were so many people struggling
to get out but  Dorado kept nudging me down step by step."
 
It took more than an hour for Dorado, Mr. Rivera and his co-worker to descend
 those 70 flights of stairs.  Not long after they had reached the ground
and had gotten to safety, the tower collapsed.
 
"I owe my life to Dorado who is my companion and my best friend."
 
~ The story originally appeared in 2001 in the Contra Costa Times then later in Dogs in the News ~