9/11 search-and-rescueLast surviving 9/11 search-and-rescue dog dies, receives hero's send-off
The last surviving search and rescue dog who worked at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terrorist attacks died on Monday. Bretagne, a 16-year-old golden retriever, was put down at Fairfield Animal Hospital in Cypress, Texas. As Bretagne slowly walked into the hospital, she was saluted by representatives of state agencies who came to pay their respects.
The last surviving search and rescue dog who worked at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terrorist attacks died on Monday.
CNN reports that Bretagne, a 16-year-old golden retriever, was put down at Fairfield Animal Hospital in Cypress, Texas. His handler, Denise Corliss, was by her side.
As Bretagne slowly walked into the hospital, she was saluted by representatives of agencies including the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department and Texas Task Force 1, who came to pay their respects.
After she was euthanized, her body was covered by an American flag and officers saluted once again as she was taken away.
Denise told NBC TODAY that Bretagne’s kidneys had started to fail in recent days, and that the food-loving retriever refused her meals for three consecutive days.
Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department Captain David Padovan told TODAY that his team’s attendance was “a very small way for us to pay tribute to a dog who truly has been a hero … Just because she’s a K9 doesn’t make her any less part of our department than any other member.”
Corliss took ownership of Bretagne, then an 8-week-old puppy, in 1999, and began training as a volunteer with a dog-handler team formed to support federal emergency response efforts at disaster sites.
Corliss and Bretagne qualified as members of Texas Task Force 1 in 2000, and their first deployment was at the World Trade Center site in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Together they spent two weeks working 12-hour shifts at Ground Zero.
CNN reports that in the following years they were deployed to disaster sites including Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and Hurricane Ivan, before Bretagne’s retirement from search work at age 9.
Bretagne was last survivor of around 300 dogs who worked at Ground Zero. Dr. Cindy Otto, a vet who worked with 9/11 search dogs, said: “You’d see firefighters sitting there, unanimated, stone-faced, no emotion, and then they’d see a dog and break out into a smile.
“Those dogs brought the power of hope. They removed the gloom for just an instant — and that was huge because it was a pretty dismal place to be.”
