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Tons of dog food are being sent to New York
to help pets affected by the World Trade Centre attacks.
The donations come from across the US and include
dog booties to help animals involved in the rescue operation.
Most of the boots, however, weren't needed by
search-and-rescue dogs at the World Trade Centre site. At least
100 tons of surplus dog food remain in storage, for hard-up
pet owners.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars has been donated
earmarked for pets affected by the terror attacks.
The American Kennel Club and the Ralston Purina
Co. is funding a £68,000, three-year study to assess the
physical and psychological problems suffered by search dogs
at the attack site.
University of Pennsylvania veterinarian Cynthia
Otto, who will lead the study, said the dogs may have been affected
by smoke and dust inhalation because they worked without the
surgical masks worn by human search crews.
She says some dogs are demoralised by the grim
magnitude of the search.
She says: "Normally, these dogs work a
little, then rest a little. Here, they were working 12-hour
shifts - their training is not geared to this kind of duration
and intensity."
Many of the dogs had been trained to find survivors,
rather than cadavers, and are accustomed to a playful reward
when they succeed.
Ms Otto said: "There wasn't a lot of playing
at the scene. That was hard on them."
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