Last surviving 9/11 rescue dog gets NY birthday party
Bretagne and her handler are flown in from Texas, honored with Times Square billboard and dedication at 9/11 memorial plaza
The last known living search-and-rescue dog who worked at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001 was thrown a birthday party in her honor on Friday, as the US marked 14 years since the attacks.
Bretagne, now 16, was on her first job that day, and was assigned to help locate people thought to be trapped under the rubble, her handler Denise Corliss told Sky News.
“I looked down at Bretagne and she seemed stoked and ready to work,” Corliss said. “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 that helped me get through it.”
The pair were dispatched from Texas to help in the rescue efforts, a journey they made again 14 years later to the day, when they received a hero’s welcome. The two were met at the airport in New York by a limousine, and put up in a hotel suite.
They were then taken to Times Square, which sported a special billboard to honor them. The billboard read “Happy Birthday” to Bretagne and thanked her and Denise for their service on 9/11.
Bretagne was also awarded a key to the city and had a cobblestone dedicated to her at the 9/11 memorial plaza.
“She represents the working dogs and disaster dogs in particular. They are deserving for a day like today,” Corliss said.
