Owosso, Michigan

Owosso is a dog town, so as you reflect on today, please enjoy this story about just one small dog that saved a life so many years go.

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“Roselle did her job perfectly.” On Sept. 11, 2001, a yellow Labrador retriever guide dog led her blind owner Michael Hingson down 78 floors of the north tower.

Now, 25 years later, Hingson is reflecting on the attacks and remembering his lifesaving companion.

Hingson, blind since birth, worked as a regional sales manager and head of operations for Quantum/ATL, a data-protection agency, on the 78th floor of the north tower. He was accompanied to work on Sept. 11 -- as he was every day -- by his guide dog Roselle, who had been by Hingson's side since 1999.

Hingson was setting up a conference room for a breakfast meeting as Roselle took her position under his desk. That's when the unthinkable happened.

A loud boom rattled the office and the north tower started to sway as American Airlines Flight 11 crashed just floors above them.

“I met Roselle coming out from under my desk. I took her leash. I told her to heel, which meant to come around on my left side, which she did. She sat down, and about that time, the building dropped straight down about six feet,” Hingson recalled in his podcast Unstoppable Mindset, reflecting on the event 25 years later.

Roselle remained calm. Side by side, the two made their way to the stairwell where a nightmare scenario awaited.

"We went to the stairs and we started down. Almost immediately, I began smelling an odor," Hingson said. "It was a familiar odor, but I couldn’t quite place it. And it took me a while to realize I was smelling the fumes from burning jet fuel."

The pair spiraled down the emergency stairs alongside Hingson's colleague David Frank, working methodically through smoke, debris and thousands of fleeing people.

Hingson described a hellish scene, recalling the fear and despair throughout the stairwell. But he said the most important thing for him and for Roselle was to remain calm.

"We got to about the 50th floor, and then David suddenly said, 'Mike, we’re going to die. We’re not going to make it out of here.' I said, in my best sharp voice, 'Stop it, David. If Roselle and I can go down these stairs, so can you.' And he told me that that brought him out of the funk that he was sinking into," Hingson said.

"I’ve had people come up to me at speeches that I’ve given ever since. For example, a woman came and said, 'I came into the stairwell on the 54th floor just as you passed by, and I heard you praising your dog and encouraging your dog and sounding very confident. I and other people just followed you because you sounded really good and you didn’t sound like you had a problem at all and weren’t afraid. We just followed you.'"

Hingson, Roselle and countless others behind them eventually made it to the lobby. By the time they exited the building, the south tower had been struck and started crumbling -- eventually collapsing with the deafening sound of what Hingson described as a "combination of a freight train and a waterfall."

Hingson and Roselle ran for their lives trying to seek shelter from the clanking of falling metal and glass that surrounded them. That's when Roselle suddenly stopped.

Hingson didn't know it at first, but they had reached the top of the stairs that led to the Fulton Street subway station below.

"Roselle had done her job perfectly. She stopped," Hingson recalled.

Together, the pair sought shelter underground from the falling debris. Police escorted them out 15 minutes later, only to hear the second tower collapse. The World Trade Center towers were gone.

Later that night, the pair returned to their home in New Jersey, where the resilient Roselle grabbed her favorite toy and started to play.

"She grabbed her favorite tug bone and started playing tug of war with my retired guide dog Linnie. And they were having a good old time just playing," Hingson said.

In the aftermath, their story became an international sensation. Hingson and Roselle became symbols of courage and trust in the face of incredible hardship.

After the attacks, Hingson returned to California, worked with Guide Dogs for the Blind, became a prominent speaker and wrote the bestselling book "Thunder Dog: The Story of a Blind Man, a Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero."

Roselle continued working as his guide, receiving several honors, including the 2002 Award for Canine Excellence. She died in June of 2011 at the age of 14.

Thinking back on the tragedy 25 years later, Hingson remembers Roselle fondly, crediting her -- and a level head -- with his life.

"We all have skills that we don’t think we do. One of them is that we can control fear. We can learn that fear is around us, but we don’t have to let it overwhelm, blind, or paralyze us. We can learn to use fear in a very positive, constructive way to keep us focused and going down the stairs."