It is Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001.
19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijack four passenger jets. Two of the planes head for New York's World Trade Center.
At 8:46 am Flight 11 crashes into North Tower of 1 World Trade Center, between floors 93 and 99.
Sixteen minutes later, Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of 2 World Trade Center.
After burning for 56 minutes, the South Tower collapses.
29 minutes later, the North Tower collapses.
The search for survivors begins.
It is here, amid the smoldering ruins of the Twin Towers that the heroes of this story take center stage.
Search and rescue dogs from across the country gather at ground zero to help in the search for survivors.
At Ground Zero, the dogs work every day in extremely dangerous conditions.
One of the dogs at the site is Bretagne (pronounced, "Brittany"). With her handler Denise Corliss, Bretagne works 12 hours a day for two weeks straight.
While the dogs are only able to find a handful of survivors, something unexpected does happen.
As the search drags on for days, a steady stream of rescuers and firefighters approach Bretagne. While petting the golden retriever, each share a personal story with Corliss of missing friends, loved ones and colleagues .
Bretagne becomes a kind of therapy dog.
Years later.....
Watch the short film and join Bretagne as she celebrates her 16th birthday, a few days before the 14th anniversary of that terrible day.
The aftermath
In her later years, Bretagne spends time once a week teaching kids how to read. No really!
She visits a local elementary school where children who are intimidated by reading out loud develop their reading skills by reading to her.
Leading up to her death, Corliss and her husband write out a bucket list for Bretagne.
On the list is one last visit to elementary school where Bretagne helped with autistic children.
A row of firefighters stand at attention as Bretagne walks with her owner, Denise Corliss, into the Fairfield Animal Hospital in Cypress, Texas. Suffering from kidney failure, she is euthanized at the age of sixteen.
"She had lived longer and accomplished more than anybody." Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department spokesman Capt. David Padovan
