The Last Surviving 9/11 Rescue Dog Returns to New York

In September of 2001, Denise Corliss of Texas Task Force 1 and her trained search and rescue dog Bretagne answered the call to come to New York City and search the ruins of the World Trade Center, first for survivors, then for bodies. Bretagne later helped in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ivan, and retired at age nine. The golden retriever still volunteers for light duty at an elementary school.

(YouTube link)

Fourteen years later, Bretagne is the last known living of the hundreds of service dogs who worked the site. BarkPost and 1 Hotels teamed up to bring Bretagne and Denise back to New York for the dog’s 16th birthday celebration! Other sponsors joined in to make the trip special. Bretagne rode around in a limousine, frolicked at the park, and enjoyed a birthday party with cake and gifts. That’s a good dog. -via Uproxx


I love 'big' dogs like german shepherds, goldens, labs, etc. I love them so much that it breaks my heart that they have such a short life span. Usually 7-10 years is about all you'll get to spend with these fabulous, special, wonderful animals. I wish their life spans were as long as smaller dogs. My cockerpoo made it to 16 years and her daughter made it to 14. My german shepherd (the best dog I ever had the privilege to live with) only made it to 7 years. Oh, how I wish...
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This made me cry. What a wonderful dog (and dog mom), and how amazing that she lived to see 16! That's really old for a large dog, as sandyra mentioned.
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