Afford Anything · Friday, September 11, 2026
Michael Hingson recounts how his guide dog, Roselle, woke him up in the early morning of September 11, 2001, due to a developing thunderstorm, which was unusual for the dog. This early wake-up call meant Hingson was already on his way to his office in the World Trade Center when the first plane hit.
“And at 12:30 AM on the morning of September 11th, she woke me up. She was panting and she was clearly fearful and, uh, we didn't hear any thunder yet. She was our early warning system.”
“So I told my wife, I would take her down to my office in our basement, which I did. And as I was going down the stairs, I started to hear a little bit of thunder.”
“But the reality is that the dogs do have a personality. And I learned that that is the case. Roselle liked to steal socks and slippers. She didn't chew them up, she hid them. You have to go find them.”