Brixton, a golden retriever who criss-crossed San Francisco over a decade, consoling and comforting humans, graced Union Square for a final time on December 4th.
There aren’t many places Brixton, the beloved therapy golden retriever, hasn’t been in San Francisco. His calm demeanor, serotonin-soaked costumes, and overall giddiness have delighted locals and tourists alike for well over a decade.
The past year, however, hasn’t been all too easy for Brixton. A deluge of health alignments has left him somewhat out of the public eye; earlier this year, a diagnosis of severe IBD that eventually progressed to early-stage lymphoma led to a long path of recovery; unfortunately, an unreleased condition, hemangiosarcoma, has taken over his body, and with no cure, death is certain.
With an uncertain amount of time left, Brixton made his final public appearance earlier this week inside Union Square, where a crowd of over a hundred strong paid their tearful goodbyes.
“Thank you from the bottom of our broken hearts for letting us into your lives to share so much love + happiness,” reads a comment posted by Brixton’s human on a video uploaded by SFGate. “It was our greatest joy to LOVE LARGE with this fabulous community in this amazing city, we are forever grateful.”
Dripping in yuletide regalia, sprinkled with nods to San Francisco, Brixton was seen in familiar form this past Thursday. Humans and other fur-babies alike — doggos who Brixton had befriended in his nearly 13 years of service — shared their last moments with the golden retriever. Many tears were shared. And many will contribute to being shed, no doubt.
Brixton was a regular fixture at popular San Francisco events like Outside Lands and SF Pride, and he was commonly seen strolling around downtown neighborhoods where Brixton and his favorite human frequented.
Brixton was also a fellow of San Francisco International Airport’s Wag Brigade, an SFO program dedicated to connecting trained dogs to passengers, helping make their travels more enjoyable, and will be leaving a massive paw print nearly impossible to fill.
