Nishi Dhupa/Cornell University

Volunteer veterinarians and veterinary technicians care for search-and-rescue dogs as they come off "The Mound" on Sept. 17, after searching for human bodies in the rubble of the World Trade Center collapse.

When hundreds of search-and-rescue dogs and their handlers showed up at the site of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center collapse, not far behind were teams of veterinarians and veterinary technicians who volunteered their time and supplies to care for the hard-working canines.

Footpad lacerations, eye irritation, dehydration and heat stroke were among the problems the veterinary medical personnel were prepared to treat. But a kind of canine depression, which set in when the usually eager dogs found all too few living survivors in the rubble, proved harder to remedy, according to one volunteer with the American Veterinary Medical Association's VMAT (Veterinary Medical Assistance Team), the official disaster response team.

Nishi Dhupa, BVM, director of emergency and critical care at the Cornell Hospital for Animals and a veteran of on-site pet care during hurricanes and other disasters, brought supplies and equipment from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. She reported for duty Sept. 17 to the first aid tent and mobile veterinary hospital at New York City's Church Street, within sight, sound and smell of the devastation.

"When the dogs come off their shift on the Mound, as everyone calls it, we check their footpads for debris and lacerations and wash their eyes with a special solution, and then do a quick medical exam," Dhupa reported by cell phone on Sept. 18. "If the dogs are covered with debris, we have a makeshift shower with a bucket and a hose to decontaminate and cool them down."

Because the dogs were working among "hot spots" from fires still burning in the rubble, overheating was a constant peril and some dogs suffered exhaustion and dehydration. Seriously ill dogs were sent uptown to the Animal Medical Center, while others were rehydrated with intravenous fluids on the spot, Dhupa said. "We try to talk to the handlers to let us keep the dogs on IV fluids, but they're anxious to get back to the Mound." Another problem was canine morale, the Cornell veterinatrian noted. "These dogs are trained to find live people -- it's positive energy for them -- but they're only finding cadavers and body parts. The handlers try to stay upbeat, because the dogs take cues from them, even though they (the handlers) are very upset and moved to tears. Besides veterinary attention, we also give them affection -- the handlers bring the dogs back to get cuddled -- and the dogs really perk up when that happens."

In fact, the presence of the search-and-rescue dogs helped cheer other rescue workers as they went about their morbid task, Dhupa said. "People like to talk to them. The dogs create a positive feeling at the Mound."

Dhupa also credited the volunteer veterinarians and technicians from throughout the city, the state and country who helped: Long Island's Suffolk County SPCA, which sent the mobile pet hospital; the ASPCA; the Animal Medical Center; New York City veterinarians who provided veterinary care and foster homes for hundreds of animals rescued during the effort; and the companies that donated dog food and supplies. Dhupa's brother, a critical care physician at nearby St. Vincent's Hospital, persuaded a pharmaceutical company to donate medications for the search dogs, and Rockefeller University located a supply of "doggie goggles" to protect the animals' eyes (although most of the dogs had trouble getting used to the new eyewear, while others declined to wear booties to protect their feet if they were not trained to do so). "There is an amazing outpouring of assistance," Dhupa said. "People are opening up their hearts."

For the Cornell veterinarian, the most heartening sight was the search-and-rescue dogs and their handlers at work. "Our proximity to the site is disturbing," she said. "We can smell the acrid, chemical smoke. Everything is covered with a layer of dust, and when the wind shifts, you can feel the particles hitting you. We can see the smoking rubble.

"But the dogs are wonderful," she added. "They're providing therapy for us all."