A golden retriever named Bretagne, the last living 9/11 rescue dog, turned 16 this week.
In order to celebrate her birthday, Barkpost.com sent her back to New York City for a dog-themed adventure. They put Bretagne and her owner/handler Denise Corliss up in a swanky Central Park hotel, had them chauffeured around in a limo, gave Bretagne upscale snacks and even burgers, baked her a cake, had her name put up in lights, got her a seat at the theatre, a key to the Hudson River dog park, and much more.
Bretagne and Corliss were members of the Texas Task Force 1, a search and rescue group, in 2001. Bretagne was one of hundreds of search dogs that descended on ground zero in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The dogs and their handlers searched day and night to find survivors and, later, to recover the remains of victims. Searching the rubble gave Bretagne and Denise an unshakable bond that they share even 14 years later.
"Bretagne and I have a really strong bond," Corliss said in the video of their trip to New York. "A lot of dog handlers say you get that ‘one dog.’ And I've had several canine partners but Bretagne is that ‘one dog’ for me."
A number of New Yorkers stopped Bretagne on the street during her visit back to the city in order to thank her for her service.
"Responding to the World Trade Center was our first deployment," Corliss told Barkpost. "Towards the end of our mission it changed from a search mission to a recovery mission. I was just so grateful to have a canine partner to help me get through it."
"She represents the working dogs and the disaster dogs in particular and they all are deserving for a day like today."