Dogs are both the victims and the rescuers in the Chile earthquake relief effortOn Monday, rescuers in Chile found a frightened puppy stuck inside a demolished house located in the seaside resort town of Constitución, two days after the massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck the nation. They gave him comfort and "bits of food and water," according to MSNBC.
But there are some animals in Chile that don't need rescuing: Dogs are a critical part of the search and rescue, but destroyed infrastructure is hampering these efforts.
"I cannot even start to describe how I feel," writes Catalina Valencia on Working Dog Forum. "I go from sadness to rage, mostly rage, rage all day for being trapped [in] this city without being able to reunite with my team, but collapsed bridges prevent me from doing that.
"In this TV capsule you can see my team working in Constitución. The black female is the dog I raised and trained," says Ms. Valencia.
Also on Monday, Joe the search dog and his handler, Linda Tacconelli, an alumnus of the Longmont Humane Society, boarded a military transport plane at California's March Air Force Base, where they flew to Chile to help with the search for survivors.
"Our disaster management team in South America is working hard to find out as much as we can about the situation in Chile, so we can plan what to do for the animals there," according the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).
"Once the initial shock subsides there may be hundreds or thousands of domestic animals in need of care and attention," wrote International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) president Fred O'Regan.
"Shortly after the earthquake, IFAW reached out to our friends at animal protection groups in Chile to assess the needs of animal victims. We are standing ready to provide emergency grants or whatever else is appropriate during these difficult times."
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- Earthquake in Haiti: The Animals (January 15, 2010)
- Leaving No Stone Unturned (April 9, 2009)
- The Tsunami Returns, Again (December 16, 2008)
- Witnessing the Birth of An Ocean (October 2, 2008)
- Giant Pandas Survive China Earthquake (May 15, 2008)
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