Last Surviving 9/11 Search Dog Dies At Age 16

Farewell to a very special hero, golden retriever Bretagne. The 16-year-old dog was euthanized on Monday at a veterinary clinic in Houston, TX after she began experiencing kidney failure over the past few weeks, and her owner, Denise Corliss, watched as she failed two do her favorite thing for three days in a row: eating.

In September 2001, about 300 search dogs worked long and hard to find survivors amongst the rubble and ash of the World Trade Center, and Bretagne was one of those dogs at just 2 years old at the time. She is believe to have been the last known surviving 9/11 Ground Zero search dog, and she lived quite the adventurous life of helping people. NBC’s “TODAY” explained that in addition to searching for survivors after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bretagne and Denise worked as a search team in response to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Ivan, and other disasters. Bretagne retired at age 9, but her work wasn’t done. She was nominated for the Hero Dog Award from the American Humane Association in 2014, and the organization’s online biography of her says that she served as an ambassador for search and rescue dogs in retirement, where she’d visit elementary schools.

ABC News explained that about two-dozen first responders lined the sidewalk leading to the veterinarian’s office to salute Bretagne ask she took her final walk into the vet. As she was carried out of the office, an American flag was draped over her body. Watch a clip of the touching farewell tribute to Bretagne below.

Learn more about Bretagne in the video below from Today.

Never Forget, and RIP to our sweet girl and hero, Bretagne.