Dogs searching for quake victims win hearts in Taiwan
Roger the dog helps a rescuer search for victims of the Taiwan earthquake on Saturday.
A former drugsniffing dog who lost his job for being too friendly has emerged as the unlikely hero of the Taiwan rescue teams searching for survivors of the island’s strongest earthquake in 25 years. At least 13 persons were killed and more than 1,140 injured by the magnitude7.4 earthquake that struck the island on Wednesday.
Landslips around the epicentre Hualien still blocked tunnels and roads, making the mountainous terrain around the county difficult for rescuers to access survivors and victims. Footage released by the county fire department on Saturday showed Roger, an eightyearold labrador, mounting a boulder that had fallen across a hiking trail near Hualien’s Taroko National Park.
Another search dog, threeyearold Wilson, a Jack Russell terrier, is getting accolades as well after footage emerged in Taiwanese media of his persistent scramble through immovable boulders.
The Mayor of southern Kaohsiung said the labrador specialises in “rubble pile search and rescue” and that he is trained to search for survivors
Handler Lee Hsinhung said Roger located a victim “just five minutes after setting off”, and praised the dog’s confidence in an unfamiliar terrain.
Originally trained as a drugsniffing dog as a pup, Roger was given his walking papers from that role because he was too friendly, which led to his switch to searchandrescue missions.
“He’s very agile,” dog handler Lee Hsinhung told presspersons.
The soontoretire dog has won hearts in Taiwan for his boisterous nature.