After the Marathon bombing, Rescue wasn’t just their service dog and good boy, he was a lifeline and much-needed laugh
Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes honor Rescue, who died last fall at the age of 13, with a celebration of life Saturday.
February 6, 2026 – Mark Shanahan, Boston Globe
BOSTON — In the weeks and months after the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombing, Jessica Kensky and her husband, Patrick Downes, struggled to smile.
The couple, who had been married for just seven months when each lost a leg in the blast, were grimly focused on their recovery, a grueling ordeal during which they had to learn how to live with a permanent physical disability. (Kensky’s other leg was also damaged and eventually had to be amputated.)
“I didn’t know how to navigate a world that wasn’t built for me anymore,” Kensky said, recalling the despair she felt in the early days of her convalescence.