My husband Larry and I lived in East Coventry, Pa., when 9/11 happened. We were in charge of Phoenixville Fire Department K-9 land search division. Our dogs were trained in all aspects of search and rescue, including disaster searching. Our unit was made entirely of volunteers who had full-time jobs. My husband was at work; my son was in school, and I was at home.

In 1994 on July 27, we had responded to a local disaster. An F3 tornado went through a housing development in Limerick, Pa., which destroyed many houses. There was a family unaccounted for, so our unit was called to search the destroyed houses.

As I saw the first tower collapse on the news, the Limerick tornado flashed through my mind and my adrenaline shot through the roof. Within a few minutes after the first tower collapsed, the phone started to ring. Unit members were calling to see if we were going to respond. It was a tough decision to make.

We had to consider that it is not ethical, nor is it proper emergency protocol to simply show up at any search situation without being called. We also knew that almost all the first responder K9s to the Oklahoma bombing died of cancer due to the contaminants that they breathed in while sniffing the rubble.

The towers had even more contaminants. We could not reach the towers easily since the area was shut down and people were not able to leave NYC. In addition, we did not have the required masks to search a collapsed structure of that level.

Although in our heart we wanted to go, it was our decision to stand down and provide the coverage necessary for our area. As it turned out, our decision was the right one.

Initially the 9/11 rescue effort was not well organized, and in some cases, K-9 volunteers were not assigned for days at which time the rescue mission turned into a body recovery mission.

Over 6,000 rescue personnel who searched the rubble piles later developed breathing problems. The dogs had to inhale the same dust as the rescue personnel.

We had several local incidents for missing people that we covered while 9/11 was taking place. Because of our decision, our dogs were able to service our community for many years after 9/11.

Susan Bulanda

Penn Forest Township