(CNN)When it was time to say goodbye, she was given a hero's farewell.
Firefighters and rescue workers lined the sidewalk as her body, draped in an American flag, was carried out. Tears streaked down some faces.
Bretagne, believed to be the last surviving 9/11 Ground Zero search dog, was euthanized Monday.
The golden retriever was 16. Old age had slowed her down, and it was time to put her to sleep.
So, the firefighters at the Cy-Fair Fire Department in Harris County, Texas, lined the path up to the Fairfield Animal Hospital, as her owner, Denise Corliss, walked her in to be put to sleep.
Back in 2001, Bretagne (pronounced, "Brittany") and Corliss were fresh graduates of Disaster City when they were deployed to New York shortly after the World Trade Center attacks.
Corliss joined hundreds of other search and rescue teams sent from around the world to find survivors at Ground Zero, working 12 hours a day for two weeks straight.
We know now there were very few survivors found in the rubble of the twin towers, and Bretagne, like so many other searchers, worked hard -- only to find none.
But Corliss discovered something unexpected: rescuers and firefighters would approach Bretagne and pet her. Soon they'd be sharing their personal stories with Corliss, describing the missing friends, loved ones and colleagues they were searching for. Bretagne had become a kind of therapy dog. "Dogs can be so comforting, so it makes sense to me now," she says. "I just didn't anticipate that, then."
9/11 was only the first of many national disasters that called Bretagne and Corliss into action.Deployments followed for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and other storms. Once Corliss watched Bretagne risk her own safety when the dog found herself standing on the end of a dangling staircase.
"She walked to the edge of it and she stopped -- turned -- and she came back down," Corliss recalled to CNN in 2014. "She did exactly what she was supposed to do, but it scared me a bit." Despite all that training, Corliss admits "there were still times when I held my breath and said, 'I hope she does this right. I hope she's OK.' "
***********
(Today Show)
Bretagne (pronounced "Brittany"), a whip-smart golden retriever with feathery fur and a sunny smile, lived an adventure-packed life until the very end. In recent weeks, though, she began experiencing kidney failure and slowing down. When Bretagne failed to do her favorite thing for three consecutive days — eat — her owner Denise Corliss realized it was time to say goodbye.
"She was really anxious last night and she just wanted to be with me," Corliss told TODAY on Monday. "So I laid down with her, right next to her. When she could feel me, she could settle down and go to sleep. I slept with her like that all night."
Denise Corliss and her husband Randy Corliss brought Bretagne to Fairfield Animal Hospital in Cypress, Texas, where the dog received a special send-off from admirers of her years of service. In addition to scouring the pile at Ground Zero in New York after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bretagne and Corliss deployed as a search team in response to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Ivan and other disasters.
Representatives from Texas Task Force 1, the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department and other agencies stood at attention and saluted Bretagne as she entered the veterinary office on Monday afternoon. They saluted Bretagne again as she departed the animal hospital with her body draped in an American flag.
"This was a very small way for us to pay tribute to a dog who truly has been a hero," Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department Captain David Padovan told TODAY. "Just because she's a K9 doesn't make her any less part of our department than any other member."
Bretagne was to be transported in a formal procession from Fairfield Animal Hospital to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. There, she will undergo an autopsy as part of a long-running study of 9/11 search dogs.
"(Bretagne's) partnership with Denise Corliss was magical," said Dr. Cindy Otto, a veterinarian with the Penn Vet Working Dog Center who has spent years tracking the health of 9/11 dogs. "The two of them touched lives throughout their careers together, not only in search and rescue but even after her retirement."
Bretagne retired from formal search work at age 9, but she never lost her love of adventure or her work ethic. Her retirement years turned out to be almost as epic as her younger years, in large part because Corliss realized Bretagne needed tailor-made physical and mental stimulation as she aged.
At age 13, Bretagne began experiencing so much stiffness and joint pain that she could no longer climb the stairs in her home. Corliss installed an above-ground pool in her backyard and helped Bretagne to swim in it for at least 10 minutes a day.
"It makes a huge difference," Corliss recalled. "She started doing the stairs again. Then we started focusing on ways to keep her mentally active. ... Helping kids with their reading in school (was) great for that."
Until very recently, Bretagne volunteered as a reading assistance dog at an elementary school near her home. She also swam regularly and took daily walks around a pond, where she loved to chase squirrels and ducks.
Bretagne made national news at age 15 when she returned to Ground Zero with Corliss for the first time since the 2001 terrorist attacks. NBC News' Tom Brokaw interviewed Corliss at the 9/11 Memorial and also spent time with Bretagne, who was a 2014 finalist for the American Humane Association's annual Hero Dog Awards.
In late 2015, Bretagne became a star of a non-fiction book about senior dogs and met with former President George H.W. Bush at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.
"She just keeps on going and enjoying life," Corliss told TODAY in March of this year. "She's just such a happy dog."
Bretagne would have turned 17 on Aug. 25. Just one month ago, Denise and Randy Corliss had to say goodbye to another of their dogs: Aid'N, a retired search dog who died of cancer at age 11. The Corlisses still have Taser, an active working search dog.
"Their personalities are all so different, and I've tried hard to capture memories — snapshots — of their personalities," Corliss said. "There are just so many little things that I'm really going to miss."
Bretagne's life story is featured in the bestselling book "My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts" by TODAY writer Laura T. Coffey. Bretagne's chapter includes comments from NBC News' Tom Brokaw and exclusive photographs of Bretagne at the 9/11 Memorial taken by Lori Fusaro.
In her later years, Bretagne spent time once a week teaching kids how to read. Really. She visited elementary school classrooms, where children, who "may be intimidated or uncomfortable reading out loud to their classmates, have an opportunity to develop reading skills by reading to her," Corliss said.
∼The last surviving 9/11 rescue dog was put down on Monday. With her body wrapped in an American flag, she was given a proper farewell as firefighters and rescue workers lined a Texas sidewalk to say goodbye.
Bretagne (pronounced Brittany) was a 16-year-old golden retriever. Her owner, Denise Corliss, walked her down a path of firefighters at the Cy-Fair Fire Department in Harris County, Texas, toward the Fairfield Animal Hospital to be euthanized.
"She served our country by deploying to the World Trade Center 9/11 disaster, she deployed to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, several other deployments," Captain David Padovan of the Cy-Fair volunteer fire department, told CNN. Later, Bretagne retired to Texas and joined first graders once a week during reading class.
Recommended: How well do you know your dog breeds? Take our quiz!
In recent years, Bretagne had experienced kidney failure, and began slowing down. Her joints were so stiff and caused so much pain that she could no longer climb the stairs at home. Then when she stopped eating for three days, Corliss took it as a sign it was time to put her down. "She was really anxious last night and she just wanted to be with me," Corliss told NBC News. "So I laid down with her, right next to her. When she could feel me, she could settle down and go to sleep. I slept with her like that all night." Bretagne would have turned 17 on August 25.
In 2001, Bretagne and Ms. Corliss had graduated Disaster City, a 52-acre search and rescue training center in College Station, Texas. Soon after they were deployed to New York to help with the search and recovery efforts at the former World Trade Center site in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Corliss and Bretagne worked nearly 12 hours each day for two weeks, looking for survivors in the wreckage. Unfortunately, there were none left for Bretagne to find.
Still, Bretagne was a special asset to the search and rescue team. Corliss remembers how firefighters and rescuers would pet Bretagne and share their stories with Corliss to describe the missing loved ones the team was searching for. "Dogs can be so comforting, so it makes sense to me now," said Corliss, describing Bretagne as a type of therapy dog. "I just didn't anticipate that, then."
Not only was Bretagne a comfort to others and a hard worker, but she was also selfless and brave. Once Bretagne walked to the edge of a dangling staircase during a search. "She walked to the edge of it and she stopped – turned – and she came back down," Corliss told CNN in 2014. "She did exactly what she was supposed to do, but it scared me a bit." Even with all Bretagne's training, Corliss at times worried about Bretagne.
Since puppyhood, however, Bretagne proved to be the kind of dog who would succeed in stressful, chaotic conditions of disaster aftermath. Puppies who may do this kind of work need to go through a strict screening process.
Corliss recalls that Bretagne was "pushy." When the two first met, Bretagne charged through a pack of eight other puppies from the back of a plastic kennel to greet Corliss. "That kind of pushy behavior helped her be the persistent don't-give-up-style of working dog that I needed later," said Corliss.
In 2009, Bretagne left the Texas Task Force 1 to work for a local fire department as a search and rescue dog. A few years later, she retired and began volunteer work in elementary schools. She helped shyer children get over their fears about reading aloud to other people, said Corliss. These children instead had an opportunity to read to Bretagne, who offered a "non-judgmental ear and a soft paw," according to the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department. Bretagne also visited students with special needs, including autism.
"Her calm demeanor and warm heart helped the young and old through their own difficult moments," said the Cy-Fair fire department, reported the Dallas Morning News.
****************
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
Firefighters and rescue workers lined the sidewalk as her body, draped in an American flag, was carried out. Tears streaked down some faces.
Bretagne, believed to be the last surviving 9/11 Ground Zero search dog, was euthanized Monday.
The golden retriever was 16. Old age had slowed her down, and it was time to put her to sleep.
So, the firefighters at the Cy-Fair Fire Department in Harris County, Texas, lined the path up to the Fairfield Animal Hospital, as her owner, Denise Corliss, walked her in to be put to sleep.
Back in 2001, Bretagne (pronounced, "Brittany") and Corliss were fresh graduates of Disaster City when they were deployed to New York shortly after the World Trade Center attacks.
Corliss joined hundreds of other search and rescue teams sent from around the world to find survivors at Ground Zero, working 12 hours a day for two weeks straight.
We know now there were very few survivors found in the rubble of the twin towers, and Bretagne, like so many other searchers, worked hard -- only to find none.
But Corliss discovered something unexpected: rescuers and firefighters would approach Bretagne and pet her. Soon they'd be sharing their personal stories with Corliss, describing the missing friends, loved ones and colleagues they were searching for. Bretagne had become a kind of therapy dog. "Dogs can be so comforting, so it makes sense to me now," she says. "I just didn't anticipate that, then."
9/11 was only the first of many national disasters that called Bretagne and Corliss into action.Deployments followed for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and other storms. Once Corliss watched Bretagne risk her own safety when the dog found herself standing on the end of a dangling staircase.
"She walked to the edge of it and she stopped -- turned -- and she came back down," Corliss recalled to CNN in 2014. "She did exactly what she was supposed to do, but it scared me a bit." Despite all that training, Corliss admits "there were still times when I held my breath and said, 'I hope she does this right. I hope she's OK.' "
***********
(Today Show)
Bretagne (pronounced "Brittany"), a whip-smart golden retriever with feathery fur and a sunny smile, lived an adventure-packed life until the very end. In recent weeks, though, she began experiencing kidney failure and slowing down. When Bretagne failed to do her favorite thing for three consecutive days — eat — her owner Denise Corliss realized it was time to say goodbye.
"She was really anxious last night and she just wanted to be with me," Corliss told TODAY on Monday. "So I laid down with her, right next to her. When she could feel me, she could settle down and go to sleep. I slept with her like that all night."
Denise Corliss and her husband Randy Corliss brought Bretagne to Fairfield Animal Hospital in Cypress, Texas, where the dog received a special send-off from admirers of her years of service. In addition to scouring the pile at Ground Zero in New York after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bretagne and Corliss deployed as a search team in response to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Ivan and other disasters.
Representatives from Texas Task Force 1, the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department and other agencies stood at attention and saluted Bretagne as she entered the veterinary office on Monday afternoon. They saluted Bretagne again as she departed the animal hospital with her body draped in an American flag.
"This was a very small way for us to pay tribute to a dog who truly has been a hero," Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department Captain David Padovan told TODAY. "Just because she's a K9 doesn't make her any less part of our department than any other member."
Bretagne was to be transported in a formal procession from Fairfield Animal Hospital to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. There, she will undergo an autopsy as part of a long-running study of 9/11 search dogs.
"(Bretagne's) partnership with Denise Corliss was magical," said Dr. Cindy Otto, a veterinarian with the Penn Vet Working Dog Center who has spent years tracking the health of 9/11 dogs. "The two of them touched lives throughout their careers together, not only in search and rescue but even after her retirement."
Bretagne retired from formal search work at age 9, but she never lost her love of adventure or her work ethic. Her retirement years turned out to be almost as epic as her younger years, in large part because Corliss realized Bretagne needed tailor-made physical and mental stimulation as she aged.
At age 13, Bretagne began experiencing so much stiffness and joint pain that she could no longer climb the stairs in her home. Corliss installed an above-ground pool in her backyard and helped Bretagne to swim in it for at least 10 minutes a day.
"It makes a huge difference," Corliss recalled. "She started doing the stairs again. Then we started focusing on ways to keep her mentally active. ... Helping kids with their reading in school (was) great for that."
Until very recently, Bretagne volunteered as a reading assistance dog at an elementary school near her home. She also swam regularly and took daily walks around a pond, where she loved to chase squirrels and ducks.
Bretagne made national news at age 15 when she returned to Ground Zero with Corliss for the first time since the 2001 terrorist attacks. NBC News' Tom Brokaw interviewed Corliss at the 9/11 Memorial and also spent time with Bretagne, who was a 2014 finalist for the American Humane Association's annual Hero Dog Awards.
In late 2015, Bretagne became a star of a non-fiction book about senior dogs and met with former President George H.W. Bush at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.
"She just keeps on going and enjoying life," Corliss told TODAY in March of this year. "She's just such a happy dog."
Bretagne would have turned 17 on Aug. 25. Just one month ago, Denise and Randy Corliss had to say goodbye to another of their dogs: Aid'N, a retired search dog who died of cancer at age 11. The Corlisses still have Taser, an active working search dog.
"Their personalities are all so different, and I've tried hard to capture memories — snapshots — of their personalities," Corliss said. "There are just so many little things that I'm really going to miss."
Bretagne's life story is featured in the bestselling book "My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts" by TODAY writer Laura T. Coffey. Bretagne's chapter includes comments from NBC News' Tom Brokaw and exclusive photographs of Bretagne at the 9/11 Memorial taken by Lori Fusaro.
In her later years, Bretagne spent time once a week teaching kids how to read. Really. She visited elementary school classrooms, where children, who "may be intimidated or uncomfortable reading out loud to their classmates, have an opportunity to develop reading skills by reading to her," Corliss said.
∼The last surviving 9/11 rescue dog was put down on Monday. With her body wrapped in an American flag, she was given a proper farewell as firefighters and rescue workers lined a Texas sidewalk to say goodbye.
Bretagne (pronounced Brittany) was a 16-year-old golden retriever. Her owner, Denise Corliss, walked her down a path of firefighters at the Cy-Fair Fire Department in Harris County, Texas, toward the Fairfield Animal Hospital to be euthanized.
"She served our country by deploying to the World Trade Center 9/11 disaster, she deployed to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, several other deployments," Captain David Padovan of the Cy-Fair volunteer fire department, told CNN. Later, Bretagne retired to Texas and joined first graders once a week during reading class.
Recommended: How well do you know your dog breeds? Take our quiz!
In recent years, Bretagne had experienced kidney failure, and began slowing down. Her joints were so stiff and caused so much pain that she could no longer climb the stairs at home. Then when she stopped eating for three days, Corliss took it as a sign it was time to put her down. "She was really anxious last night and she just wanted to be with me," Corliss told NBC News. "So I laid down with her, right next to her. When she could feel me, she could settle down and go to sleep. I slept with her like that all night." Bretagne would have turned 17 on August 25.
In 2001, Bretagne and Ms. Corliss had graduated Disaster City, a 52-acre search and rescue training center in College Station, Texas. Soon after they were deployed to New York to help with the search and recovery efforts at the former World Trade Center site in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Corliss and Bretagne worked nearly 12 hours each day for two weeks, looking for survivors in the wreckage. Unfortunately, there were none left for Bretagne to find.
Still, Bretagne was a special asset to the search and rescue team. Corliss remembers how firefighters and rescuers would pet Bretagne and share their stories with Corliss to describe the missing loved ones the team was searching for. "Dogs can be so comforting, so it makes sense to me now," said Corliss, describing Bretagne as a type of therapy dog. "I just didn't anticipate that, then."
Not only was Bretagne a comfort to others and a hard worker, but she was also selfless and brave. Once Bretagne walked to the edge of a dangling staircase during a search. "She walked to the edge of it and she stopped – turned – and she came back down," Corliss told CNN in 2014. "She did exactly what she was supposed to do, but it scared me a bit." Even with all Bretagne's training, Corliss at times worried about Bretagne.
Since puppyhood, however, Bretagne proved to be the kind of dog who would succeed in stressful, chaotic conditions of disaster aftermath. Puppies who may do this kind of work need to go through a strict screening process.
Corliss recalls that Bretagne was "pushy." When the two first met, Bretagne charged through a pack of eight other puppies from the back of a plastic kennel to greet Corliss. "That kind of pushy behavior helped her be the persistent don't-give-up-style of working dog that I needed later," said Corliss.
In 2009, Bretagne left the Texas Task Force 1 to work for a local fire department as a search and rescue dog. A few years later, she retired and began volunteer work in elementary schools. She helped shyer children get over their fears about reading aloud to other people, said Corliss. These children instead had an opportunity to read to Bretagne, who offered a "non-judgmental ear and a soft paw," according to the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department. Bretagne also visited students with special needs, including autism.
"Her calm demeanor and warm heart helped the young and old through their own difficult moments," said the Cy-Fair fire department, reported the Dallas Morning News.
****************
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
(CNN)When it was time to say goodbye, she was given a hero's farewell.
Firefighters and rescue workers lined the sidewalk as her body, draped in an American flag, was carried out. Tears streaked down some faces.
Bretagne, believed to be the last surviving 9/11 Ground Zero search dog, was euthanized Monday.
The golden retriever was 16. Old age had slowed her down, and it was time to put her to sleep.
So, the firefighters at the Cy-Fair Fire Department in Harris County, Texas, lined the path up to the Fairfield Animal Hospital, as her owner, Denise Corliss, walked her in to be put to sleep.
Back in 2001, Bretagne (pronounced, "Brittany") and Corliss were fresh graduates of Disaster City when they were deployed to New York shortly after the World Trade Center attacks.
Corliss joined hundreds of other search and rescue teams sent from around the world to find survivors at Ground Zero, working 12 hours a day for two weeks straight.
We know now there were very few survivors found in the rubble of the twin towers, and Bretagne, like so many other searchers, worked hard -- only to find none.
But Corliss discovered something unexpected: rescuers and firefighters would approach Bretagne and pet her. Soon they'd be sharing their personal stories with Corliss, describing the missing friends, loved ones and colleagues they were searching for. Bretagne had become a kind of therapy dog. "Dogs can be so comforting, so it makes sense to me now," she says. "I just didn't anticipate that, then."
9/11 was only the first of many national disasters that called Bretagne and Corliss into action.Deployments followed for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and other storms. Once Corliss watched Bretagne risk her own safety when the dog found herself standing on the end of a dangling staircase.
"She walked to the edge of it and she stopped -- turned -- and she came back down," Corliss recalled to CNN in 2014. "She did exactly what she was supposed to do, but it scared me a bit." Despite all that training, Corliss admits "there were still times when I held my breath and said, 'I hope she does this right. I hope she's OK.' "
***********
(Today Show)
Bretagne (pronounced "Brittany"), a whip-smart golden retriever with feathery fur and a sunny smile, lived an adventure-packed life until the very end. In recent weeks, though, she began experiencing kidney failure and slowing down. When Bretagne failed to do her favorite thing for three consecutive days — eat — her owner Denise Corliss realized it was time to say goodbye.
"She was really anxious last night and she just wanted to be with me," Corliss told TODAY on Monday. "So I laid down with her, right next to her. When she could feel me, she could settle down and go to sleep. I slept with her like that all night."
Denise Corliss and her husband Randy Corliss brought Bretagne to Fairfield Animal Hospital in Cypress, Texas, where the dog received a special send-off from admirers of her years of service. In addition to scouring the pile at Ground Zero in New York after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bretagne and Corliss deployed as a search team in response to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Ivan and other disasters.
Representatives from Texas Task Force 1, the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department and other agencies stood at attention and saluted Bretagne as she entered the veterinary office on Monday afternoon. They saluted Bretagne again as she departed the animal hospital with her body draped in an American flag.
"This was a very small way for us to pay tribute to a dog who truly has been a hero," Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department Captain David Padovan told TODAY. "Just because she's a K9 doesn't make her any less part of our department than any other member."
Bretagne was to be transported in a formal procession from Fairfield Animal Hospital to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. There, she will undergo an autopsy as part of a long-running study of 9/11 search dogs.
"(Bretagne's) partnership with Denise Corliss was magical," said Dr. Cindy Otto, a veterinarian with the Penn Vet Working Dog Center who has spent years tracking the health of 9/11 dogs. "The two of them touched lives throughout their careers together, not only in search and rescue but even after her retirement."
Bretagne retired from formal search work at age 9, but she never lost her love of adventure or her work ethic. Her retirement years turned out to be almost as epic as her younger years, in large part because Corliss realized Bretagne needed tailor-made physical and mental stimulation as she aged.
At age 13, Bretagne began experiencing so much stiffness and joint pain that she could no longer climb the stairs in her home. Corliss installed an above-ground pool in her backyard and helped Bretagne to swim in it for at least 10 minutes a day.
"It makes a huge difference," Corliss recalled. "She started doing the stairs again. Then we started focusing on ways to keep her mentally active. ... Helping kids with their reading in school (was) great for that."
Until very recently, Bretagne volunteered as a reading assistance dog at an elementary school near her home. She also swam regularly and took daily walks around a pond, where she loved to chase squirrels and ducks.
Bretagne made national news at age 15 when she returned to Ground Zero with Corliss for the first time since the 2001 terrorist attacks. NBC News' Tom Brokaw interviewed Corliss at the 9/11 Memorial and also spent time with Bretagne, who was a 2014 finalist for the American Humane Association's annual Hero Dog Awards.
In late 2015, Bretagne became a star of a non-fiction book about senior dogs and met with former President George H.W. Bush at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.
"She just keeps on going and enjoying life," Corliss told TODAY in March of this year. "She's just such a happy dog."
Bretagne would have turned 17 on Aug. 25. Just one month ago, Denise and Randy Corliss had to say goodbye to another of their dogs: Aid'N, a retired search dog who died of cancer at age 11. The Corlisses still have Taser, an active working search dog.
"Their personalities are all so different, and I've tried hard to capture memories — snapshots — of their personalities," Corliss said. "There are just so many little things that I'm really going to miss."
Bretagne's life story is featured in the bestselling book "My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts" by TODAY writer Laura T. Coffey. Bretagne's chapter includes comments from NBC News' Tom Brokaw and exclusive photographs of Bretagne at the 9/11 Memorial taken by Lori Fusaro.
In her later years, Bretagne spent time once a week teaching kids how to read. Really. She visited elementary school classrooms, where children, who "may be intimidated or uncomfortable reading out loud to their classmates, have an opportunity to develop reading skills by reading to her," Corliss said.
∼The last surviving 9/11 rescue dog was put down on Monday. With her body wrapped in an American flag, she was given a proper farewell as firefighters and rescue workers lined a Texas sidewalk to say goodbye.
Bretagne (pronounced Brittany) was a 16-year-old golden retriever. Her owner, Denise Corliss, walked her down a path of firefighters at the Cy-Fair Fire Department in Harris County, Texas, toward the Fairfield Animal Hospital to be euthanized.
"She served our country by deploying to the World Trade Center 9/11 disaster, she deployed to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, several other deployments," Captain David Padovan of the Cy-Fair volunteer fire department, told CNN. Later, Bretagne retired to Texas and joined first graders once a week during reading class.
Recommended: How well do you know your dog breeds? Take our quiz!
In recent years, Bretagne had experienced kidney failure, and began slowing down. Her joints were so stiff and caused so much pain that she could no longer climb the stairs at home. Then when she stopped eating for three days, Corliss took it as a sign it was time to put her down. "She was really anxious last night and she just wanted to be with me," Corliss told NBC News. "So I laid down with her, right next to her. When she could feel me, she could settle down and go to sleep. I slept with her like that all night." Bretagne would have turned 17 on August 25.
In 2001, Bretagne and Ms. Corliss had graduated Disaster City, a 52-acre search and rescue training center in College Station, Texas. Soon after they were deployed to New York to help with the search and recovery efforts at the former World Trade Center site in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Corliss and Bretagne worked nearly 12 hours each day for two weeks, looking for survivors in the wreckage. Unfortunately, there were none left for Bretagne to find.
Still, Bretagne was a special asset to the search and rescue team. Corliss remembers how firefighters and rescuers would pet Bretagne and share their stories with Corliss to describe the missing loved ones the team was searching for. "Dogs can be so comforting, so it makes sense to me now," said Corliss, describing Bretagne as a type of therapy dog. "I just didn't anticipate that, then."
Not only was Bretagne a comfort to others and a hard worker, but she was also selfless and brave. Once Bretagne walked to the edge of a dangling staircase during a search. "She walked to the edge of it and she stopped – turned – and she came back down," Corliss told CNN in 2014. "She did exactly what she was supposed to do, but it scared me a bit." Even with all Bretagne's training, Corliss at times worried about Bretagne.
Since puppyhood, however, Bretagne proved to be the kind of dog who would succeed in stressful, chaotic conditions of disaster aftermath. Puppies who may do this kind of work need to go through a strict screening process.
Corliss recalls that Bretagne was "pushy." When the two first met, Bretagne charged through a pack of eight other puppies from the back of a plastic kennel to greet Corliss. "That kind of pushy behavior helped her be the persistent don't-give-up-style of working dog that I needed later," said Corliss.
In 2009, Bretagne left the Texas Task Force 1 to work for a local fire department as a search and rescue dog. A few years later, she retired and began volunteer work in elementary schools. She helped shyer children get over their fears about reading aloud to other people, said Corliss. These children instead had an opportunity to read to Bretagne, who offered a "non-judgmental ear and a soft paw," according to the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department. Bretagne also visited students with special needs, including autism.
"Her calm demeanor and warm heart helped the young and old through their own difficult moments," said the Cy-Fair fire department, reported the Dallas Morning News.
****************
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
Firefighters and rescue workers lined the sidewalk as her body, draped in an American flag, was carried out. Tears streaked down some faces.
Bretagne, believed to be the last surviving 9/11 Ground Zero search dog, was euthanized Monday.
The golden retriever was 16. Old age had slowed her down, and it was time to put her to sleep.
So, the firefighters at the Cy-Fair Fire Department in Harris County, Texas, lined the path up to the Fairfield Animal Hospital, as her owner, Denise Corliss, walked her in to be put to sleep.
Back in 2001, Bretagne (pronounced, "Brittany") and Corliss were fresh graduates of Disaster City when they were deployed to New York shortly after the World Trade Center attacks.
Corliss joined hundreds of other search and rescue teams sent from around the world to find survivors at Ground Zero, working 12 hours a day for two weeks straight.
We know now there were very few survivors found in the rubble of the twin towers, and Bretagne, like so many other searchers, worked hard -- only to find none.
But Corliss discovered something unexpected: rescuers and firefighters would approach Bretagne and pet her. Soon they'd be sharing their personal stories with Corliss, describing the missing friends, loved ones and colleagues they were searching for. Bretagne had become a kind of therapy dog. "Dogs can be so comforting, so it makes sense to me now," she says. "I just didn't anticipate that, then."
9/11 was only the first of many national disasters that called Bretagne and Corliss into action.Deployments followed for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and other storms. Once Corliss watched Bretagne risk her own safety when the dog found herself standing on the end of a dangling staircase.
"She walked to the edge of it and she stopped -- turned -- and she came back down," Corliss recalled to CNN in 2014. "She did exactly what she was supposed to do, but it scared me a bit." Despite all that training, Corliss admits "there were still times when I held my breath and said, 'I hope she does this right. I hope she's OK.' "
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(Today Show)
Bretagne (pronounced "Brittany"), a whip-smart golden retriever with feathery fur and a sunny smile, lived an adventure-packed life until the very end. In recent weeks, though, she began experiencing kidney failure and slowing down. When Bretagne failed to do her favorite thing for three consecutive days — eat — her owner Denise Corliss realized it was time to say goodbye.
"She was really anxious last night and she just wanted to be with me," Corliss told TODAY on Monday. "So I laid down with her, right next to her. When she could feel me, she could settle down and go to sleep. I slept with her like that all night."
Denise Corliss and her husband Randy Corliss brought Bretagne to Fairfield Animal Hospital in Cypress, Texas, where the dog received a special send-off from admirers of her years of service. In addition to scouring the pile at Ground Zero in New York after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bretagne and Corliss deployed as a search team in response to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Ivan and other disasters.
Representatives from Texas Task Force 1, the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department and other agencies stood at attention and saluted Bretagne as she entered the veterinary office on Monday afternoon. They saluted Bretagne again as she departed the animal hospital with her body draped in an American flag.
"This was a very small way for us to pay tribute to a dog who truly has been a hero," Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department Captain David Padovan told TODAY. "Just because she's a K9 doesn't make her any less part of our department than any other member."
Bretagne was to be transported in a formal procession from Fairfield Animal Hospital to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. There, she will undergo an autopsy as part of a long-running study of 9/11 search dogs.
"(Bretagne's) partnership with Denise Corliss was magical," said Dr. Cindy Otto, a veterinarian with the Penn Vet Working Dog Center who has spent years tracking the health of 9/11 dogs. "The two of them touched lives throughout their careers together, not only in search and rescue but even after her retirement."
Bretagne retired from formal search work at age 9, but she never lost her love of adventure or her work ethic. Her retirement years turned out to be almost as epic as her younger years, in large part because Corliss realized Bretagne needed tailor-made physical and mental stimulation as she aged.
At age 13, Bretagne began experiencing so much stiffness and joint pain that she could no longer climb the stairs in her home. Corliss installed an above-ground pool in her backyard and helped Bretagne to swim in it for at least 10 minutes a day.
"It makes a huge difference," Corliss recalled. "She started doing the stairs again. Then we started focusing on ways to keep her mentally active. ... Helping kids with their reading in school (was) great for that."
Until very recently, Bretagne volunteered as a reading assistance dog at an elementary school near her home. She also swam regularly and took daily walks around a pond, where she loved to chase squirrels and ducks.
Bretagne made national news at age 15 when she returned to Ground Zero with Corliss for the first time since the 2001 terrorist attacks. NBC News' Tom Brokaw interviewed Corliss at the 9/11 Memorial and also spent time with Bretagne, who was a 2014 finalist for the American Humane Association's annual Hero Dog Awards.
In late 2015, Bretagne became a star of a non-fiction book about senior dogs and met with former President George H.W. Bush at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.
"She just keeps on going and enjoying life," Corliss told TODAY in March of this year. "She's just such a happy dog."
Bretagne would have turned 17 on Aug. 25. Just one month ago, Denise and Randy Corliss had to say goodbye to another of their dogs: Aid'N, a retired search dog who died of cancer at age 11. The Corlisses still have Taser, an active working search dog.
"Their personalities are all so different, and I've tried hard to capture memories — snapshots — of their personalities," Corliss said. "There are just so many little things that I'm really going to miss."
Bretagne's life story is featured in the bestselling book "My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts" by TODAY writer Laura T. Coffey. Bretagne's chapter includes comments from NBC News' Tom Brokaw and exclusive photographs of Bretagne at the 9/11 Memorial taken by Lori Fusaro.
In her later years, Bretagne spent time once a week teaching kids how to read. Really. She visited elementary school classrooms, where children, who "may be intimidated or uncomfortable reading out loud to their classmates, have an opportunity to develop reading skills by reading to her," Corliss said.
∼The last surviving 9/11 rescue dog was put down on Monday. With her body wrapped in an American flag, she was given a proper farewell as firefighters and rescue workers lined a Texas sidewalk to say goodbye.
Bretagne (pronounced Brittany) was a 16-year-old golden retriever. Her owner, Denise Corliss, walked her down a path of firefighters at the Cy-Fair Fire Department in Harris County, Texas, toward the Fairfield Animal Hospital to be euthanized.
"She served our country by deploying to the World Trade Center 9/11 disaster, she deployed to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, several other deployments," Captain David Padovan of the Cy-Fair volunteer fire department, told CNN. Later, Bretagne retired to Texas and joined first graders once a week during reading class.
Recommended: How well do you know your dog breeds? Take our quiz!
In recent years, Bretagne had experienced kidney failure, and began slowing down. Her joints were so stiff and caused so much pain that she could no longer climb the stairs at home. Then when she stopped eating for three days, Corliss took it as a sign it was time to put her down. "She was really anxious last night and she just wanted to be with me," Corliss told NBC News. "So I laid down with her, right next to her. When she could feel me, she could settle down and go to sleep. I slept with her like that all night." Bretagne would have turned 17 on August 25.
In 2001, Bretagne and Ms. Corliss had graduated Disaster City, a 52-acre search and rescue training center in College Station, Texas. Soon after they were deployed to New York to help with the search and recovery efforts at the former World Trade Center site in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Corliss and Bretagne worked nearly 12 hours each day for two weeks, looking for survivors in the wreckage. Unfortunately, there were none left for Bretagne to find.
Still, Bretagne was a special asset to the search and rescue team. Corliss remembers how firefighters and rescuers would pet Bretagne and share their stories with Corliss to describe the missing loved ones the team was searching for. "Dogs can be so comforting, so it makes sense to me now," said Corliss, describing Bretagne as a type of therapy dog. "I just didn't anticipate that, then."
Not only was Bretagne a comfort to others and a hard worker, but she was also selfless and brave. Once Bretagne walked to the edge of a dangling staircase during a search. "She walked to the edge of it and she stopped – turned – and she came back down," Corliss told CNN in 2014. "She did exactly what she was supposed to do, but it scared me a bit." Even with all Bretagne's training, Corliss at times worried about Bretagne.
Since puppyhood, however, Bretagne proved to be the kind of dog who would succeed in stressful, chaotic conditions of disaster aftermath. Puppies who may do this kind of work need to go through a strict screening process.
Corliss recalls that Bretagne was "pushy." When the two first met, Bretagne charged through a pack of eight other puppies from the back of a plastic kennel to greet Corliss. "That kind of pushy behavior helped her be the persistent don't-give-up-style of working dog that I needed later," said Corliss.
In 2009, Bretagne left the Texas Task Force 1 to work for a local fire department as a search and rescue dog. A few years later, she retired and began volunteer work in elementary schools. She helped shyer children get over their fears about reading aloud to other people, said Corliss. These children instead had an opportunity to read to Bretagne, who offered a "non-judgmental ear and a soft paw," according to the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department. Bretagne also visited students with special needs, including autism.
"Her calm demeanor and warm heart helped the young and old through their own difficult moments," said the Cy-Fair fire department, reported the Dallas Morning News.
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Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
