First Place: "A Dog Named Wuss"
by Julie Williams

Second Place: "Partners Under Rubble"
by Taylor Graham

Third Place: "I'm a Real Heroine"
by Sherry Szmigiel

Once upon a time there was a tired, old Malinois Shepard named Servus. His human partner called him Wuss, but it was only a name. He was imported from Holland to the heart of America when he was just a pup, to live, to be loved, and to learn how to save people.

In his nine years as a search and rescue dog, Wuss worked side by side with his police partner, Chris, following his commands and showing courage at all times. During those years he saved Chris’ life twice, found a wandering Alzheimer’s patient in the nick of time, and solved crime after crime with his amazing nose.

Even though he’s an old dog, he still has it in him. Wuss accompanied Chris to New York City, arriving at Ground Zero just 24 hours after the disaster began. September 11th is a day America will never forget. September 12th is a day Chris and Wuss will never forget. It’s the day they saw with their own eyes how much hatred there is in the world.

Wuss was trained to find survivors and victims of disasters, but he’d never seen anything quite like this. Nobody there had ever seen anything like it. But they all did their duty, desperately trying to beat the clock and find people they could save.

For hours on end, Wuss tirelessly combed the wreckage, climbing mountains of glass, concrete and twisted steel in search of someone, anyone. When they reached an area that was once an elevator, Wuss descended into the perfect hole, hoping to bring back up news of survivors. But instead, Wuss lost his footing and plummeted 20 feet down, landing face first in a deadly pile of dust and debris.

Chris immediately sprang into action to save the life of his canine companion, who’d spent his life dedicated to saving others. After quite a struggle, Chris managed to pull his 70-pound partner back to where his downhill journey began, checking the dog’s condition and yelling for help.

Wuss couldn’t breathe. He hacked and gasped for air, while Chris tried to clear the dust and ash from his nose and mouth. A nurse came to his aid and administered an IV, and a group of people rushed the dog to a Manhattan vet clinic, where a team of doctors awaited his arrival.

Wuss was lucky that day. He was lucky to have a human companion that thought of him as a family member. He was lucky that amongst the death and destruction there were strangers willing to help in any way they could. He was lucky there was a world-renowned animal hospital within a few miles. And he was lucky to be alive.

Although his recovery wasn’t nearly complete, Wuss was determined to finish the job he started, so after a few hours he went back to Ground Zero with Chris. Injured and wheezing still, the eager pup continued working for the next seven hours. When in complete exhaustion he fell once more, Chris was the one to call it quits. Convinced that the dog would work himself until his death, Chris made plans to head home and let Wuss rest and recover.

Wuss is retired now, living quite a comfortable life for a dog. He’s become semi-famous for his heroic efforts and now receives rawhide bones and thank-you cards from people all over the country. One little old lady several states away even sent him eight bucks to buy a bagful of cheeseburgers. Not bad for a dog who’s nine, going on ten.

Copyright © 2001 by Julie Williams.

Roxy my dog, my rafter-walker:
the building's down. And all
the building's people sleeping
under concrete.
I don't hear them breathing.
You could have smelled
their breath, their fear.

Roxy, my crevice-crawler,
you've finally dug too deep.
You won't come back where I
could find you -- gone
to a land of broken rafters
so the sky beams unbroken
overhead.

Copyright © 2001 by Taylor Graham.

Look at me me, ain't I cute?
And I'm a real heroine to boot!

Why, way back in my younger days,
My humans gave me lots of praise.

I was always there to watch the kids,
They would say, "This dog babsits!"

One summer day when it wasn't very cool,
The little girl and her friend were playing in a pool.

It was just a small pool, maybe big as me,
They splashed and played, as happy as can be.

Then their heads went under, and they went around and round,
I had to dash on over, cause I had't heard a sound.

I grabbed my girls' ponytail, which was floating up and down,
I surely knew it was my job not to let her drown.

But as I yanked at her hair, she splashed and yelled at me,
"What are you doing you silly dog? We're mermaids, can't you see?"

Oh boy, I sure felt silly, but then the lady ran out.
"You were trying to rescue her!" she began to shout.

Then she hugged and kissed me and held on to me tight,
And every day thereafter never let me out of her sight.

We've been the best of friends, ever since that day,
She tells me I'm the best dog that ever came to stay.

Copyright © 2001 by Sherry Szmigiel.