WATCH ABOVE: Bretagne is the last known surviving rescue dog that served during the 9/11 recovery efforts. To celebrate her 16th birthday, she was treated to her “best day ever” in New York City.
TORONTO – The last known living search-and-rescue dog returned to New York City ahead of the 14th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks and was given a hero’s welcome and an epic birthday party.
Bretagne and her handler, Denise Corliss, were members of Texas Task Force 1 and were first deployed to Manhattan to join almost 100 other search and rescue dogs to help sniff out survivors trapped amongst the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Website BarkPost arranged to fly the pair from Texas to New York to honour Bretagne and Corliss for their service. It was also the golden retriever’s 16th birthday.
“After hearing Bretagne’s story and learning that her 16th birthday was coming up, there was no question in our minds that she deserved a Dog’s Best Day for the ages,” BarkPost wrote.
Bretagne was just two years old when the pair was dispatched to ground zero and was amongst the first wave of responders to begin searching the rubble.
“Responding to the World Trade Center was our first deployment,” Corliss told BarkPost. “When our task force arrived in ground zero, I just couldn’t believe the magnitude.
“Then I looked down at her and she seemed stoked and ready to work.”
Bretagne received a hero’s welcome at a high-end hotel near Central Park where she was presented with treats and gifts, including a gourmet hamburger.
Bretagne also received the “bone to the dog park,” the canine equivalent to the key to the city.
“Towards the end of our mission, it changed from a search mission to a recovery mission,” Corliss said. “I was just so grateful to have a canine partner that helped me get through it.
“She represents the working dogs, the disaster dogs in particular; they are all deserving for a day like today.”
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