From the category of sadness comes this Contra Costa Times story:
ONE OF BERKELEY'S most beloved firefighters retired Monday. But instead of a gold watch, he got a Milk Bone.That's because he was a dog -- a friendly golden-colored German Shepherd named Dylan, who was the fire department's search-and-rescue dog for the past seven-and-a-half years. He and his owner, firefighter Darren Bobrowsky, were one of only 28 FEMA emergency response teams in the country. Whenever somebody needed rescuing, they were the first ones called.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Dylan and Darren flew on a military transport to New York to rescue survivors of the terrorist attacks.
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Back at their home base, Station #5 in south Berkeley, Dylan was a regular member of the team. Every morning at roll call the firefighters went through a solemn ritual: They'd stand at attention while Dylan went from person to person, pausing at each one to let his head be petted, then moving on to the next one.Dylan was also a certified Animal Assisted Therapy Dog, which allowed him to go into hospitals and nursing homes and bring some warm-and-fuzzy love to the patients. His results were often astounding. Little kids with cancer would pet him and smile for the first time in months. Old people with Alzheimer's would pet him and start talking about the dogs they had when they were young.
Two years ago, Dylan and Darren were the grand marshals of the Solano Stroll parade.
But it all came to an end on Monday because Dylan was suffering from an excruciating spinal degenerative disease. Darren and his wife, Lori, tried everything they could think of, including acupuncture treatments. That helped for a little while, but in recent weeks Dylan was suffering so badly, Darren and Lori were forced to the awful conclusion that not only would Dylan have to retire, he would have to be euthanized.
As word got around the department that Monday would be Dylan's last shift, firefighters from all over the city dropped in to say good-bye to their old friend.