I was driving down Houston the other day when a firetruck raced by, sirens blazing…

Nothing unusual about that. But, just as it turned onto Broadway, something caught my eye: was that a dalmatian hanging its head out the window???

Seriously?? I’ve always assumed the firehouse dalmatian was the sort of thing you only find in Norman Rockwell paintings and old movies, certainly not at a modern NYC fire company.

But does Ladder 20 indeed have its own dalmatian? The other day, I took a walk to the firehouse, which happens to be around the corner from our office…

I knocked on the door, and a fireman opened it. I told him about seeing the truck, and asked him if they had a dalmatian. “Hang on,” he said, “Let me see if I can wake her up.”

A minute later, the firehouse garage door opened…

Another minute went by…And another…

And then, looking incredibly sleepy and very annoyed at having been woken up, a tired dalmatian shuffled out!

She came to the sidewalk and stopped, squinting into the sun…

…Then glanced at me like, “seriously, you woke me up for this?”…

…Then went back to squinting into the sun.

Ha, well, here she is! This sleepy dog is Twenty, Ladder 20’s firedog:

Now 10 years old, Twenty was donated to Ladder 20 to offer comfort after 9/11. The company lost seven men in the tragedy, along with seven men from Squad 18 which was temporarily housed in their building.

According to legend, the Dalmatian became associated with firefighting in the days when fires were fought with water pumps on horse-drawn carriages. Dalmatians, known to have an unusually good rapport with horses, would guard the animals from other dogs on the trip to the fire, then protect them from thieves as firemen worked to put out the blaze, which often required hours of arduous work.

Today, Twenty mainly serves Ladder 20 as a friendly companion, and can be seen hanging her head out the window of the firetruck as it zips through traffic. Keep an eye out for her on jobs – unlike the full-of-excitement temperaments of most dalmatian, she’s a bit lazy, but very friendly!

And with that, Twenty headed back into the firehouse to get back to sleep…

…at least, until the next alarm!

-SCOUT

PS – A friend of mine who works with a dog rescue group in Florida is desperately looking for a loving home for two dogs. If you happen to be in that neck of the woods and looking for a new companion, click here for more info!

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