Thursday, January 21, 2010

Dogs Helping People

We're all aware of the earthquake in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

The property damage was devastating, but the damage to the people was more than any of us can begin to comprehend. Hundreds of thousands dead or missing.


Search and rescue crews from around the world have gone to Haiti to help find as many survivors as possible in the short time frame available. The damage to Haiti's ports and airport have made it difficult for the teams to get into the country and to the collapsed buildings, but the search is still ongoing.


Today my dogs and I are proud to report a successful rescue by one of those SAR teams from Germany.


On Wednesday, Anja Fiedler and her Portuguese Water Dog, Pablo alerted rescuers to the whereabouts of a 69 year old woman buried under a building. The woman was pulled alive from the rubble. Pablo is credited with finding five other people, though there are no reports on the conditions of the others.


This is Pablo


Pablo and Anja are from Ludwigshafen, Germany and are in Haiti for ten days seraching for anyone burried in the rubble of collapsed buildings.

If you would like to learn more about Search and Rescue Dogs, there are a couple websites that give excellent information on their training and how they do their jobs. You can check out The National Association for Search and Rescue, NASAR or The Dog Owners Guide to Search and Rescue Dogs.

19 comments:

gMarie said...

Yea Pablo. That has to make both Pablo and his owner proud. :) Good work team. g

Lapdog Creations said...

Awesome job Pablo!!!!!! :)

soulbrush said...

brings tears to my eyes. some people are so genuine and think only of others.

Scrabblequeen said...

Thank goodness for folks who are willing to take the time and risk to go help out! Isn't it nice, also, to know that a cousin of your dogs has proved a hero?

Sam said...

What an amazing story. Those search and rescue dogs are worth their weight in gold.

Dianne said...

Hooray for Pablo! What a hero!

Marjie said...

Hooray for Pablo and Anja!

Janet said...

Yea Pablo and Anja! Thanks for sharing this story.

Rocky Creek Scotties and Rocky Creek Ramblings said...

What a miracle. Great job, Pablo.

Tina. said...

What an awesome story! Thanks for sharing it. And have you heard about the teams going in and rescueing dogs and other pets as well? I think that story was on dogchanel.com What a great outreach to all in Haiti.

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

Awesome work, Pablo. One of our Dad's producers is the father of one of the four students still missing from Lynn University. The family is devastated. The university has had to hire a private team to try to get some answers. It is just such a very tragic situation there. They need many more Pablos there for sure.

Woos, Phantom and Thunder

i said...

Good job, Pablo! Very proud of you!

LizzieJane said...

What a great doggy Pablo is! I think it is wonderful that those wonderful dogs and their humans are helping in Haiti. What a dreadful disaster it is.
x

Molly the Airedale said...

You're a hero in our book, Pablo! Well done!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Anonymous said...

I just can't fathom everything that is going on in Haiti. It's just heart breaking. Dogs have always been a huge part of recovery. It's amazing how smart and alert they are. Hats off to this wonderful animal and to all of the volunteers that are in Haiti. Thank you for this post.

SissySees said...

Beautiful Pablo. Thanks for sharing the story!

Martha said...

We just love these stories of these wonderful dogs and their wonderful humans.
xxx

Vivian said...

What a great story! Thank you for sharing it.

Connie said...

Good work done by a good dog and handler! PWDs are so incredibly suitable for this work aren't they?!