Last known 9/11 search and rescue dog dies at 16
Bretagne, the last known surviving dog that aided in September 11, 2001 search and rescue efforts passed away on Monday. She was 16 years old, and was euthanized peacefully in Texas.
The golden retriever was 2 years old when she was deployed as a FEMA Search and Rescue Canine to the site of the World Trade Center for 10 days with Texas Task Force 1 (TX-TF1) and her handler Denise Corliss.
Bretagne met Corliss when she was just 8 weeks old, and began training with TX-TF1 to be a FEMA certified at 12 months.
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In addition to serving at ground zero, Bretagne also aided in nearly a dozen other disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ivan, according to a memorial from TX-TF1.
Bretagne received a hero's salute as she made her final walk into the vet's office on Monday from her fellow rescue workers at the Cy-Fair, Texas Fire Department.
Although Bretagne retired as a search and rescue dog at age nine, she continued to work as a goodwill ambassador with her local fire department and she helped with a reading assistance program at a nearby elementary school.
"For the past three years, until just a few weeks ago, she was a regular visitor to Roberts Road Elementary School in the Waller Independent School District," the Cy-Fair Fire Department said in a statement on Bretagne's passing. "Each week, she would visit a first grade classroom and listen to young readers, providing a non-judgmental ear, and soft paw. She also visited students with special needs, such as autism. Her calm demeanor and warm heart helped the young and old through their own difficult moments."
Her calm demeanor and warm heart helped the young and old through their own difficult moments.
Her calm demeanor and warm heart helped the young and old through their own difficult moments.
A teammate of Bretagne described the pup as, "affectionate to everybody, and fiercely devoted, never takes her eyes off her handler."
"She has always taken her job as a search dog seriously, but herself not so much," the unnamed teammate said in the memorial from TX-TF1. "Always ready for a belly rub, or a treat. In remembering her first deployment at the World Trade Center, there are images of her going to where she was directed to search, the unknown, the chaotic environment. But even then, she knew who needed the comfort of a dog, which firefighter needed to hold her close and stroke her fur."
Last year, Bretagne's 15th birthday celebration from BarkBox went viral. The clip has since racked up over 2 million views.
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