DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- The donations sent from across America to this stricken city after Sept. 11 weren't just for the people in need: there were dog booties by the thousands, dog food by the ton.
Most of the boots weren't needed by search-and-rescue dogs at the World Trade Center site. And at least 100 tons of surplus dog food remain in storage, ready for giveaway to hard-up pet owners.
But the donated supplies, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked for pets affected by the terror attacks, demonstrated the powerful affinity many Americans have for animals, even amid a tragedy with a staggering human death toll.
While the dog teams have now dispersed and the relatively few orphaned pets have found homes, the concern for animals persists.
The American Kennel Club's Canine Health Foundation and the Ralston Purina Co. are funding a $100,000, three-year study to assess the physical and psychological problems suffered by search dogs at the attack site.
University of Pennsylvania veterinarian Cynthia Otto, who will lead the study, said the dogs may have been affected by smoke and dust inhalation because they worked without the surgical masks worn by human search crews. She also said some dogs were demoralized by the grim magnitude of the search.
``Normally, these dogs work a little, then rest a little,'' she said. ``Here they were working 12-hour shifts _ their training is not geared to this kind of duration and intensity.''
Many of the dogs had been trained to find survivors, rather than cadavers, and are accustomed to a playful reward when they succeed.
``There wasn't a lot of playing at the scene,'' Otto said. ``That was hard on them.''
When it became clear there would be no more survivors, some handlers tried to cheer up their dogs by staging ``rescues'' so the animals would get the satisfaction of finding a live person.
About 350 search-and-rescue dogs, many from faraway states, were deployed at the trade center.
Animal lovers across the country _ including Scout troops, schoolchildren and purebred clubs _ sent money and supplies to support the dogs. Reports that some dogs were cutting their paws on jagged debris prompted shipments of dog booties from as far afield as Alaska, even though experts said the dogs work better without boots.
``We had a room filled to the ceiling with stuff _ everything from booties to gourmet pet treats,'' said Ruth First, a spokeswoman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. ``We had to say thanks, but no thanks.''
By early October, relief coordinators sent out word that no more dog supplies were needed, and asked that money be sent instead. First said the ASPCA alone received more than $1 million, and will use much of that money to develop programs for future disasters.
Anne Culver, director of disaster services for the Humane Society of the United States, said the surplus dog food is being distributed to animal shelters around New York and to food banks serving people affected by the attacks.
``That way people who need food for themselves can pick up food for their pet as well,'' Culver said.
Public support for the search dogs was matched by concern for pets living in areas of lower Manhattan that were cordoned off after the attacks. Teams from animal-welfare groups helped reunite hundreds of stranded pets with owners who weren't allowed to move back into their apartments.
``The elevators were out because there was no electricity,'' said Doris Meyer of the New York Center for Animal Care and Control. ``Our teams would go up 10, 20 flights of stairs in pitch dark. There were cats that didn't want to be found, dogs that didn't want to walk down stairs.''
Meyer said fears arose that pets of people killed in the attacks might starve to death while left unattended. But no such pet deaths were confirmed, she said.
Some ``orphaned'' pets were turned in to shelters, but Meyer said every one of them has found an adoptive home.
Animal-welfare groups received an avalanche of offers to help, from virtually every state in the nation. Some staffers said they were shocked by intensity of emotions, citing letters which complained that human victims of the attacks were getting too much attention at the expense of pets.
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