Dog refuses to leave injured friend

Source: GlobalAnimalTV (You Tube) Key words: dog friend Japan tsunami

'He's alive!': Spaniel somehow survives amid the wreckage of the tsunami

Amid the terror of imminent possible nuclear disaster and the human death toll of the Japanese earthquake a loyal dog refuses to leave its best friend.

Japanese news reports say the two animals were caught in the tsunami and magnitude nine quake on Friday.

While one dog somehow survived unscathed, the other appeared to have been killed when the monster wave swept through the Arahama area in Sendai - only for rescuers to find he had miraculously survived the disaster.

As this heartbreaking footage shows the brown and white coloured spaniel-cross refused to leave the side of his seemingly dead canine companion - even stopping rescuers from getting close.

But then as the crew filmed the scene, believing only one dog has survived, they suddenly noticed the head of the other dog move and rejoiced, shouting: 'Yes! Yes! He is alive.'

Luckily a combined effort by Japanese news channel reporters and rescuers has now meant the loyal dog and his friend have been rescued since the footage was shot earlier this week.

An emotional English transcript has now been released of the moment the rescue began.

A reporter speaks to camera: 'We are in Arahama area. Looks like there is a dog. There is a dog. He looks tired and dirty. He must have been caught in the tsunami. He looks very dirty.

'He has a collar. He must be someone's pet. He has a silver collar. He is shaking. He seems very afraid.

'Oh, there is another dog. I wonder if he is dead.'

Another person off camera asks: 'Where?'

The reporter continues: 'Right there. There is another dog right next to the one sitting down. He is not moving. I wonder. I wonder if he is alright.'

The voice off-camera says: 'The dog is protecting him,' with the reporter replying: 'Yes. He is protecting the dog. That is why he did not want us to approach them. He was trying to keep us at bay.

'I can't watch this. This is very difficult to watch. Oh. Look. He is moving. He is alive. I am so happy to see that he is alive.

'Yes! Yes! He is alive.

'He looks to be weakened. We need them to be rescued soon. We really want them rescued soon.

'Oh good. He's getting up. It is amazing how they survived the tremendous earthquake and tsunami. It's just amazing that they survived through this all.'

Both dogs have now been rescued, according to a Facebook post by Kenn Sakurai, president of a dog and cat food firm which aids animal rescue operations.

'The one which came close to the camera is in the better condition,' he explained.

'The other white, grey and black was weak. So it is in the vet clinic in Ibaraki Prefectre.The other dog is in the shelter of the same area.

'But please know that those two are *just the tip of the iceberg. There are more and we need help.'

Source: Daily Mail 

Idioms:

"But please know that those two are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more and we need help."

An iceberg represents danger - just think of the Titanic. Only a small part of it is above the water and visible; most of it is hidden below the water. So if something is "just the tip of the iceberg", this means that it is just the beginning of something much bigger. In the case above, these two dogs are just a small percentage of a much bigger problem. There will be thousands of more dogs which need help.