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September 13, 2001, New York City, Ground Zero.

A fire department battalion chief, listing workers’ names at a Ground Zero checkpoint, was stymied when a volunteer said, “Joaquin Guerrero.”

“What?” the chief asked. “Walking? Walking?” Baffled, he tried a new tactic. “Where you from?”

“Michigan,” said Guerrero, a K9 cop who’d come from Saginaw with his big German shepherd police dog, Rookie, to help with search and rescue.

“From now on your name’s Michigan,” the fireman said. “Got it?”

Michigan and Rookie: Guardians of the Night

Guerrero got it all right, and later used it in a book title.

Michigan and Rookie: Guardians of the Night by Joaquin Guerrero as told to Barbara Marshak came out a year ago, just in time to commemorate 9/11’s 10th anniversary. The book covers Guerrero’s 22-year career as a Saginaw policeman, including his and Rookie’s grueling and poignant seven-day mission at Ground Zero.

Recently Guerrero visited Leashes and Leads to talk about his book and autograph copies. He brought with him Rookie’s namesake, Rookie II, who stretched out beneath a table and snoozed as Guerrero spoke to spectators.

Guerrero, trim and energetic, sported a stud in each ear. His hair in a short black braid, he mentioned his American Indian and Mexican ancestry, offered tips on dog training and discussed his work and his life and God’s guidance in them. “When God talks, I say, ‘Yes, Lord, what do you want?’ On 9/11 the Lord said, ‘Make a phone call.’

“Remember that day?” Guerrero asked his Leashes and Leads listeners. “So many people were trying to reach New York City, nobody could get through. The lines were so jammed, getting a busy signal was a sort of victory.”

Still – and credit divine intervention – his call, to NYC emergency management, got through on the first try.

Could he and his K-9 help? he asked. “Come now!” emergency management replied.

“You’ve got to listen to that still small voice,” Guerrero told his audience. “Be obedient. Don’t be afraid.”

Ground Zero - The Pile

“But at Ground Zero, everyone was afraid.”

Overwhelmed workers dubbed the smoldering site “The Pile.” It was a heap of toxic rubble, 40 feet high and seven stories deep covering more than 16 acres. Soot and ash smoldered, and dust, all that was left of thousands of annihilated things, was everywhere. Steel girders, twisted, tilted and several stories tall, looked ready to topple. Workers reporting for duty were warned to watch out for falling shards of glass.

Where do you even start? Guerrero wondered. “But God said, ‘I’ll tell you where to do and what to do.’

“Rook toiled like a workhorse,” Guerrero said. And not only in search and rescue. When the workers, scared and sad, realized there would be no survivors to rescue, their sorrow increased. “Some needed Rookie as a therapy dog, and Rookie cuddled up and put his big head on many shoulders.”

It’s likely his service at The Pile cost Rookie his life. Ground Zero debris contained carcinogens, and late in 2003, a mass in Rookie’s jaw was diagnosed as cancer – a particularly virulent and fast-growing cancer. Rookie died June 30, 2004.

The big dog’s K9 training included handler protection, obedience, building searches, area searches, evidence searches, tracking, narcotics, K9 SWAT and K9 therapy.

“Rookie was all those,” Guerrero said, “a true renaissance dog.”

Rookie II is rather renaissance himself. He’s qualified in all of the above, except therapy.

“The first Rookie was Dean Martin – suave, very serious and so photogenic, Guerrero said. “He looked great in every photo, and every time he spotted a camera he’d adopt a dignified pose.

“Rookie II? Jerry Lewis. Silly. I tell people, you have to learn about each dog. They’re all different.”

Rookie, P.R. Dog

Michigan and Rookie also tells stories of the on-duty adventures of cop and dog and the dangers they faced in Saginaw, long ranked as America’s most violent city.

In addition, the book covers Guerrero and Rookie’s project to help kids stay out of gangs.

Before Rookie made his police dog debut, his trainers told Guerrero, “Your dog is your best public relations tool.”

They were right, and Guerrero, watching children lining up to pet Rookie, saw teaching potential. “Rookie and I started going into the schools,” he said, “to help the kids just say no.”

The kids talked to the dog. “They’d tell Rookie: ‘You’ve got to come to my neighborhood. Bubby’s dealing drugs.’

“I eavesdropped and got lots of good leads.”

He worked third shift so he could visit schools, which he did on his own time. Most nights, he got only four hours’ sleep.

Though Rookie needed no help generating youthful enthusiasm, Guerrero kept coming up with added attractions. Rookie cookies, Rookie puppets, Rookie dolls, Rookie robots, Rookie t-shirts, Rookie cards.

Word spread, and K9 cop and canine took their just-say-no show on the road, to South Dakota, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. and more. Guerrero estimates he and Rookie gave presentations to more than 250,000 kids.

“The biggest mistake many police officers make, I tell them, is hanging around too much with other police officers. Go in the schools. Meet the children. See the good.”

Guerrero retired from SPD in June 2011 and now works for a small police department in a small town. Oakley, Michigan – one square mile,” he said, “as compared to Saginaw’s 18 square miles.”

“People say, ‘Don’t you miss the excitement of Saginaw?’ I say, ‘Heck no. It’s nice to see people waving at you with five fingers.’”