MFM Minisode 508

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

This mini-episode features hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark reading listener-submitted hometown stories from the comfort of their homes. The episode opens with a heartwarming account of Roselle, a guide dog

Key takeaways

• Guide dog Roselle led blind man Michael Hingson down 1,463 stairs in the WTC North Tower on 9/11, calming panicked survivors along the way.
• Karen Kilgariff is a puppy raiser for Seeing Eye, the oldest guide dog school in the U.S., explaining the 15-month training commitment before dogs are placed with handlers.

Main topics

• 9/11 hero guide dog Roselle
• Seeing Eye puppy raising program

Notable quotes

"Roselle, unfazed, led Michael to the entry of a subway station. All the way out. All the way out into a subway station."

Conclusion

The episode balances profound stories of canine heroism and feminist l

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:01) This is exactly right. Speaker 1 (0:24) And welcome. To my favorite murder. The mini-sode. That was so, like, thoughtful of you and heartfelt. You know what it is? It's because we get to record this from home. I know. So, like, I'm looking at Georgia sitting in a big rattan chair in a sundress where it's like, we're going to run out of this record and just go be in the day. No Speaker 2 (0:43) makeup on. That's so nice. Hold on. But immediately, Elvis. Oh, my God. I just called Mo Elvis. Immediately, Mo Speaker 1 (0:50) is bugging me. Mo, get in here. We need you for this record. How is he? He's a jerk. Is he high maintenance? Speaker 2 (0:56) He is, and I love it. Speaker 1 (0:59) All right. Do you want to go first? Sure. This is kind of lovely. The subject line of this email is hero guide dog story from 9-11. Oh, Speaker 2 (1:08) dear. Speaker 1 (1:09) Yeah. So it says, hello. I'm writing this on the 25th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, and I listened to Karen's story about the 88th floor heroes yesterday. And if you want to listen to that, it's episode 549. Let's action. which is also our new British new wave album. Okay. So it says, I wanted to share the story of a hero from the 78th floor, a yellow lab named Roselle. Oh, no. Michael Hingson, who has been blind since birth, was working at his desk on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower when the first plane hit the building above him. His three-year-old guide dog, Roselle, was asleep under his desk. She calmly guided Michael to stairwell B, despite the fear, confusion, and smoke that was starting to fill the air. Over the next hour, Roselle led Michael and about 30 other people down 1,463 steps to safety. Oh, my God. She calmly guided him around obstacles and debris just as she was trained to do. Michael says that he repeated over and over throughout their descent that she was doing a great job. He wanted to reassure her that he was okay because he was sure that she could sense the panic around him. At one point, they came up to a woman who was having a panic attack in the stairwell. They stopped to comfort her and Roselle gave her kisses. Speaker 2 (2:27) Then Speaker 1 (2:27) she got back to her task. Can you imagine? Just the horror show. And then suddenly there's just a dog there licking your face. Speaker 2 (2:36) I would like you. I mean, I Speaker 1 (2:38) would grab that dog scruff and never let go. Smooches for days. Please. Okay. Michael also calmed his colleague who had started to panic at some point saying, if Roselle and I can make it down these stairs, so can you. Yeah. Roselle, her human, and their entourage made it to the lobby just as the other tower collapsed. Roselle, unfazed, led Michael to the entry of a subway station. All the way out. All the way out into a subway station. Later that evening, when they made it home to Nurgis... They made it home? Speaker 2 (3:12) I Speaker 1 (3:12) was ready for Speaker 2 (3:13) this to end Speaker 1 (3:14) horribly. Later that evening, when they made it home to New Jersey, Roselle grabbed her favorite toy and started playing with their other dog as though it had been a totally normal day on the job. Oh, Speaker 2 (3:26) my God. There were, Speaker 1 (3:28) of course, many other hero dogs that day. Another guide dog named Salty, also a yellow lab, guided his human down to safety. And so many search and rescue dogs worked through the rubble in the days and weeks that followed. So sad. Speaker 2 (3:41) But I Speaker 1 (3:42) wanted to share Roselle's story with you and listeners. She might be the goodest girl ever. Speaker 1 (3:49) Roselle, it's such a good name. I have no personal connection to Roselle or Michael, but I am especially struck by this story because I'm a puppy raiser for the seeing eye. The seeing eye is the oldest guide dog school in the U.S. I didn't know that. There's like one Speaker 2 (4:04) that Speaker 1 (4:04) was first. I mean, obviously, I didn't know things could if they were the first one that would mean they were. Speaker 2 (4:13) I mean, it makes sense to be like, that's just the thing and not like, how did it start? Speaker 1 (4:17) Yes. It's just suddenly. I guess I was thinking there was just the one. Okay. It's not the school where Roselle was trained, but all the guide dog schools rely on puppy raisers to get their future guide dogs a good start in life. Seeing eye raisers get puppies around seven weeks of age, and we have them until they're around 12 to 15 months old. At that point, we have to give them back, and we are unlikely to ever interact with them again if they're successful in their training. Speaker 2 (4:45) It's Speaker 1 (4:46) a heartbreaking but beautifully rewarding task. Part of our job is to safely expose our puppies. puppies to as many sights, sounds, and environments as we can so that they are ready to guide their future person through any situation. I'm amazed by what guide dogs do on a day-to-day basis, but to think that a goofy, playful little puppy I could raise could go on to be as heroic as Roselle. Well, I'm not crying. You're crying. Speaker 1 (5:16) Thank you for everything you do and the human and animal stories you allow us to share. Stay sexy and become a puppy raiser, Lizzie. Speaker 2 (5:23) What was the name of the company again? Speaker 1 (5:26) The Seeing Eye. Speaker 2 (5:27) Because if you have depression and you get a puppy who needs you to take it out to as many opportunities to learn as possible, can you imagine how important and like... life-changing that would be? Yeah, Speaker 1 (5:42) because I think it's such a good way to go. It doesn't have to be about you to be important. And if you can't, if you can't go, oh, nothing I'm going to do is worth it. Speaker 2 (5:51) Yeah. But Speaker 1 (5:52) isn't it worth it for that precious little Speaker 2 (5:54) dog that needs that training? And then you've got like 15 months ahead of you that are like the most important of someone else's life. So yeah, Speaker 1 (6:02) that's Speaker 2 (6:03) amazing. What a great email. But then the Speaker 1 (6:05) heartbreak, like... I know. To be able, the same with people who foster dogs. They're just, they're in it for the big picture. I love it. It's incredible. That was great. Thank you. Yeah, great email. Speaker 2 (6:19) All right. Well, let's just jump right into a Ouija board Speaker 1 (6:22) email. How about go in the opposite Speaker 2 (6:25) direction? That's what Speaker 1 (6:25) this show is. Speaker 2 (6:27) Okay. Hello. As a new listener, I'm currently obsessed with your podcast. I know I listened to it in the car and while walking my dog. No, it's a themed episode. Oh, my dog is very happy because my walks are longer than usual as I like to finish an episode during the walk. So that's like a two and a half hour. The dog's like, Jesus. Okay. I just finished listening to episode 378 about the Ouija board murders. You asked for Ouija board stories. Do I have an interesting story for you? When I was about seven or eight, my grandparents, my mom and my aunt were all playing cards. This was the early seventies. So I was left to my own devices to entertain myself and keep out of the kitchen where they were playing Pinochle. Speaker 1 (7:07) Pinochle is like, perfect. Speaker 2 (7:10) While wandering around the house, I found an old Ouija board upstairs in a closet. My grandmother was from the Appalachia Mountains and was pretty superstitious. I had heard about the Ouija board and was told not to mess with it. Being unsupervised, I did what any kid would do. I pulled it out of the box and started asking it questions. She's