Iroso (Arsey), the last mule that had been in force to the Alpine troops died 40 years old, equivalent to 120 for a man. He was mourned by all 'black feathers', the Italian Alpine Troops, who had taken him up in an auction when the Army 'retired' the mules to switch to tracked vehicles. For Iroso there has been a burial party with lots of flag-raising and fanfare in alpine gathering style, at Cappella Maggiore (Treviso), where he lived.
Iroso, the last mule of the Alpine troops died
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An Officer of the "Alpini" told me years ago that mules could even today be invaluable in a war in the mountains, but that they were compelled to retire the mules as there are not today the troops used to deal with these animals from boyhood, animals that were in the past present in each and every alpine farm and were "part of the family" as a dog and a cat.
Great, yet sad story.
Sad indeed. 
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Russian Campaign, 1942:
"During the withdrawal we had hundreds of sledges pulled by mules, who suffered with us and had nothing to eat but a few scrub brushes that sprouted from the snow. Poor beasts, they were covered with ice, and the presence of those animals was somewhat reassuring for everyone. While we were walking day and night we always tried to stay close to a mule, so each of these animals always had a group of ten or fifteen soldiers around. [...] Once a driver was wounded by a splinter that fractured his leg: I was the medical officer so tried to lend him some care, when at a certain point his mule came up to him and slipped his nose between the ground and the neck of the wounded man, so as to support, warm and comfort him, a thing which I will never forget. "
(Giulio Bedeschi - One hundred thousand frozen mess tins)
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