Salty and Roselle are unique on this list in that they were awarded the Dickin Medal, something which normally goes to dogs in military service but they were in fact guide dogs, albeit guide dogs in a very unique situation. You see, these two dogs were with their blind owners in the World Trade Center on 9/11 during the attack. Both the dogs managed to ignore the panic that must have gone on during that awful day, the smells of burning airplane fuel, the heat and everything else and got their owners out. Salty was with her owner, Omar Rivera, on the 71st floor of Tower 1. Even when someone else took her lead, Salty refused to leave Rivera's side. Roselle was seven floors further up in the same tower when the attack hit with her owner, Michael Hingson. Their descent took more than an hour, and as they exited the building, Tower 2 collapsed showering them with debris. After reaching a nearby subway station, Hingson and Roselle helped a woman who had been blinded in the attack. The two dogs shared a Dickin Medal, only the second time this has happened and the only time it was given to an animal in a non-military role. In addition, Roselle was named American Hero Dog of the Year in 2011 posthumously after she died of a stomach ulcer earlier that year.
