Last known 9/11 rescue dog, Bretagne, dies aged 16

[Michelle Jahn]

Last known 9/11 rescue dog, Bretagne, dies aged 16

From the topic Life

07/06/16





Bretagne and handler Denise Corliss

The last known living 9/11 search dog has died in America aged 16.

A statement from the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service says Golden Retriever Bretagne was put to sleep on Monday at a veterinary clinic in the Houston suburb of Cypress.

Bretagne (Pronounced: Britney) was two years old when she and her handler, Denise Corliss, took part in the 9/11 search operation in New York.

Almost 3,000 people died in a series of attacks on America in September 2001.

[Michelle Jahn]

Four planes were hijacked with two crashed into the World Trade Centre towers in Lower Manhattan, New York.

Another plane hit the Pentagon in Virginia and a fourth was forced to ditch in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, by passengers on board.

Bretagne and Denise Corliss were part of the Texas Task Force 1 sent to the World Trade Centre site after the terror attacks on 9/11.

[Michelle Jahn]

A dog helps people searching at the 9/11 site

[Michelle Jahn]

They spent 10 days at the scene searching rubble for human remains.

Nearly 100 other search and rescue dogs were used after 9/11 to try to find and save people trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Centre.

Bretagne retired from active duty aged nine.

After retiring, Bretagne helped other search dogs and volunteered at a reading programme at a primary school in Texas.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36466635/last-known-911-rescue-dog-bretagne-dies-aged-16