The Discovery in the Rubble

On September 12, 2001, FDNY Captain Mike Delaney was sifting through debris near Ground Zero when he heard it—a faint mew beneath twisted steel. There, in an air pocket under a fallen beam, was a soot-covered orange tabby kitten, barely 4 weeks old, clinging to life.

“I thought I was hallucinating from exhaustion,” Mike recalls. “Then she licked my glove.”

An Unlikely Bond Forms

The kitten—later named Ember—became the station’s mascot during recovery efforts:

• Slept in Mike’s turnout gear pocket during breaks

• Alerted crews to gas leaks with her frantic meows (likely smelling chemicals humans couldn’t detect)

• Was officially deputized as “Probationary Feline First Responder” with her own tiny helmet

But when the recovery mission ended, Ember faced a crisis—severe respiratory damage from toxic dust. That’s when our Allies for Animals medical team stepped in.

The Long Road to Recovery

Ember’s Challenges:

• Lung scarring requiring steroid treatments

• PTSD symptoms (hiding during loud noises)

• Separation anxiety from Mike

The Breakthrough:
Our behaviorist paired Ember with a rescued deaf Dalmatian named Spot. The two developed a unique language:

• Spot would “herd” Ember away from stressful areas

• Ember would wake Spot for meal times (by batting his nose)

• They slept intertwined like yin and yang

Full Circle Moment

Today, 22 years later:

• Ember (now a senior) and Spot still live with Mike at his Long Island home

• The trio visits burn units to comfort patients

• Their story inspired our “First Responder Foster Program”, placing rescued animals with EMS personnel

“That little cat saved me as much as we saved her,” Mike says. “When the world felt broken, she reminded me how to hope.”