The last living rescue dog from Ground Zero visits WTC site

The last living rescue dog from Ground Zero visits WTC site

The last known surviving search dog who worked at Ground Zero returned to the former World Trade Center site this week for the first time since Sept. 2001, NBC News reports.

Bretagne, a 15-year-old golden retriever, was just 2 when she was deployed with Denise Corliss, her owner and handler, following the terrorist attacks.

“After 9/11, everybody — all of us — felt such sadness," Corliss, now 49, said. "We all wanted to help. I just felt so honored that we were able to respond.”

The year before, Corliss and Bretagne, who live in Cypress, Texas, joined Texas Task Force 1, a volunteer group that supports federal emergency response efforts at disaster sites around the United States. Ground Zero was their first deployment together.

“I really believed we could find somebody — anybody! — if we could just get to the right void space,” Corliss said. “But our reality was much different. We found all various kinds of remains, some recognizable, others not so much.”

In between 12-hour shifts scouring the rubble for survivors, Bretagne would comfort other rescue workers.

“You’d see firefighters sitting there, unanimated, stone-faced, no emotion, and then they’d see a dog and break out into a smile,” Dr. Cindy Otto, a veterinarian who cared for the 300 or so search dogs at Ground Zero, told NBC. “Those dogs brought the power of hope. They removed the gloom for just an instant — and that was huge because it was a pretty dismal place to be.”

Despite the chaotic environment, Bretagne "knew who needed the comfort of a dog, which firefighter needed to hold her close and stroke her fur," a teammate recalled on the website for the American Humane Society's Hero Dog Awards, for which Bretagne was nominated.

Following their work at the WTC site, Bretagne and Corliss continued their work at disaster sites, including in the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Rita. In 2008, Bretagne retired from active search and rescue work but still serves as a search and rescue dog "ambassador," visiting hospitals and elementary schools.

"As she prances into the school, her tail wagging, her fur highlighted with silver, she is always finding joy in work, and not letting her age define her," the award nomination reads. "Bretagne is a Hero Dog."

Corliss and Bretagne at Ground Zero in New York City, Sept. 2001. (Denise Corliss)
Corliss and Bretagne at Ground Zero in New York City, Sept. 2001. (Denise Corliss)