Dog Names Meaning Earth

Have you ever heard the lyrics of a song that touches your heart deeply? Or, have you ever seen a picture or read a story that changes your life?  Sometimes, the media plays a large part in how we view our world and how we live our lives.  Sometimes, a simple photograph can appear in a periodical, communicating something in the human (and canine) spirit that doesn’t need words.  Our pop culture spotlight is a canine, caught in a moment that will likely live forever in our history.

Rewind to 1995, the place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the good old USA, and the event is the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in that city.  The dog is Aspen, a Golden Retriever and her handler is Urban Canine Search and Rescue handler, Anthony “Skip” Fernando, III from Miami, Florida.  On April 19, 1995, the horrific bombing occurred, ultimately killing 168 people and injuring many others, causing first responders and search and rescue teams to assemble in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Over the next several days, teams sifted through the rubble, in search of survivors and remains of those who did not survive.  The men, woman, and canines who responded to the call worked tirelessly for many hours on end in the hopes of finding survivors, saddened when too many of those found were not alive. A picture, taken by David Allen, is one that has been called the personification of the search and rescue efforts which followed that bombing.  The photo shows Aspen sitting with the arms of her handler, Skip Fernando, wrapped around her, his helmeted head resting on her back while he leaned, having just completed 12 to 13 hours of grueling search for survivors through the rubble that was once the Alfred P. Murrah building.  The sadness depicted on the face and in the eyes of Aspen, and the total exhaustion seen in her handler touched the hearts of thousands when the photo appeared in the newspaper the next day.  In memory, articles and books have been written to commemorate those lives lost in the bombing, publically acknowledging those rescuers for their efforts.  The efforts of those search and rescue dogs were just as vital as those of the men and women themselves. Aspen is the name of a deciduous broad-leafed tree - something strong and steadfast, well-rooted in the earth - her name fits!