Last known 9/11 search dog euthanised in US

Bretagne, a 16-year-old golden retriever said to be the last surviving 9/11 search-and-rescue dog that helped to scan the wreckage of the World Trade Center in New York for victims of the terror attack has been euthanised.
The dog was put down at a veterinarian's office here yesterday.
The dog had retired six years ago and slowed down considerably because of her age. But she was still a beloved fixture at the firehouse, Houston Chronicle reported.
The canine and her owner Denise Corliss, of Cypress, were deployed at Ground Zero by the Texas Task Force 1. After her retirement age 10, Bretagne aided other search dogs in training and volunteered at a reading programme at a local elementary school.

About two-dozen firefighters and members of the search- and-rescue dog community lined the sidewalk to the veterinarian's office to honor and bid a tearful goodbye to the ailing dog as she walked by them for the last time.
An American flag was draped over Bretagne's body as she was carried back out of the hospital.

She had lived with her handler, a Cy-Fair volunteer firefighter, for all of her 16 years.
Bretagne was part of the Texas search-and-rescue contingent that descended on New York City after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to search for victims at Ground Zero.
In all, around 300 dogs took part in the search efforts. Amy Ramon, fire chief of the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department, said Bretagne "touched every station" in the agency.

"She's a part of the Cy-Fair family," Ramon said.