Mexico City – Frida the rescue dog, a Labrador retriever who gained worldwide fame for her heroics after the earthquake that devastated Mexico on September 19, 2017, officially retired from duty on Monday, June 24, 2019 during a solemn ceremony held at Naval Ministry headquarters in Mexico City.
Part of the “International Day of the Rescuer” observances, the ceremony paid a well-deserved tribute to those who perform the noble task of saving lives in national and international territories.
Frida, working with the Canine Unit and the Urban Search and Rescue Unit of the Ministry of the Navy, used her senses to help assist in the search and rescue of people caught in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that rocked Mexico City on September 19, 2017. The Lab managed to locate over a dozen people, and brought them all to safety.
Rescue dog Frida looks on while working after an earthquake in Mexico City, Mexico September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
According to a press release on the Mexican government’s website, she also used her senses to help assist after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, the explosion of the PEMEX Tower in 2013, and the Guaranda earthquake in Ecuador in 2016.
Frida’s handlers removed her famous mask and booties at the ceremony, and she received a chew toy as a symbol of her new life in retirement. “Our dear Labrador Frida is starting a new era,” said the Undersecretary of the Navy, Admiral Eduardo Redondo Arámburo.
“After serving ten years, two months and 12 days in the active service of the Navy of Mexico, without a doubt, Frida has earned respect, admiration and affection in the most difficult times in which the naval personnel and Mexicans united to strengthen the great values that distinguish Mexicans, said Redondo.
“Frida, Mission accomplished, with honor,” he added.
SEMAR
