Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
JDTA Fukishima Japan Nuclear Plant Evacuation Zone Dog Rescue Project 4-29-2011
(4-29-11 12:30 am)
We are going into the 20km-30 Fukushima Nuclear Plant Evacuation Zone
to save the dogs stranded in the area.
It's been over a month since the Earthquake and the dogs in the area
are at their limit of health after being left alone.
We'd like to find the stranded dogs and reunite them with their owners,
and if that's not possible, we'd like to work to get the dogs adopted by new owners.
We've got 4 cages so we can rescue any dogs we find immediately .
We also have supplies of dog food that have been donated to us
that we can use to feed any hungry dogs that we find.
(4 JDTA Staff Members set out on the rescue Mission to the Fukushima Reactor Evacuation Zone)
(About a 6 hour drive from Tokyo to the resticted areas around the Fukushima Reactor. )
(We drive slowly to spot stranded dogs separated from their owners.)
(Locations close to the shore were damaged by the Tsunami and caused the dogs and owners to be separated. )
(We found a dog without a leash, we rush out of the car to rescue the dog.)
Got him. Finally got him.
(We check with the neighbors to make sure the owners are not around.)
(We decide to rescue this dog.)
It's ok. You've never been in a crate before right?
He's eating. He seems fine.
(We head inland where we hear there are more stranded dogs.)
(The inland areas suffered from the Earthquake and the damage was still visible.)
(We head to an inspection road block to get some more information on stranded dogs)
The dog is friendly and has a collar. .
Let's eat. Let's get him some food.
We started seeing him 3 days ago. He probably hasn't eaten, so please give him some food.
Don't know your name, but here you go.
(It looks like he hasn't eaten, so we give him food, and decide to rescue him.)
We'll take him now. Thank you for your help.
(We search nearby areas for more dogs.)
(We find a stranded dog right away.)
(We try to offer some food.)
(This dog was afraid of people and ran away. We were unable to rescue this dog)
(We saw a lot of stranded dogs afterwards.)
(Because these dogs weren't socialized to accept other people...)
(They were too scared to come near, and we were unable to capture and rescue them.)
(We left food to ease their hunger and pray that their owners would return soon.)
(We want to rescue them but can't. It breaks our heart to leave them.)
(Time was running out for our mission when...)
(An old dog happened to appear.)
You're so skinny.
He might be blind.
He's very very skinny.
His coat is matted pretty badly and he is too thin.
(He was malnourished and weak, but since he wasn't afraid of people, we were able to rescue him.)
It's ok. It's a little cramped.
(We rescued 3 dogs this day and headed to the radiation screening area.)
(Iwaki City Welfare Insurance Center)
(Here we will have the 3 dogs screened for radiation.)
(Luckily all 3 dogs passed the radiation screening.)
(Document showing that they passed the radiation screening)
We just finishd the radiation screening for the 3 rescued dogs.
They passed the checkup with no problems. We'll now take them back to Tokyo
and get a health check and shampoo if necessary.
(We arrive back at JDTA Tokyo 6:30 PM)
He's thin and may have some eye problems.
He's lethargic due to malnourishment.
His teeth are clean.
His coat is matted pretty badly.
His ribs and bones are showing through.
(His coat is matted so much that we decide to cut them off.)
(He was so dirty, the bathwater turned murky right away.)
(We try to train the dogs we rescue to be more comfortable with other humans while we search for their owners, or to ready them
(JDTA Japan Dog Training Association also works to rescue dogs left in dog pounds and facilities where dogs are put down if owners are not found in time.)
(We rescued this dog from a pound on April 13th.)
He's gained about 1.5 kilograms.
22 to 25 kilograms is best of his breed, but he's at 16.7 kilograms right now.
He came in at 15 kilograms.
He has a few scars from feeding time at the other facility.
Due to limited space, 4 dogs were fed at the same time with one bowl.
That's when some of the other dogs got food aggressive and bit him.
He's a bit timid. That's how he got some of those scars.
He's recovered a bit from the bite wounds. (We named him TAITO.)
He's had antibiotics and creams to help with recovery.
(This dog was rescued from a facility 4-10-2011.)
(As a message to disaster stricken areas we named her "Ale")
(We are training him so that it will be easier for her to find a new foster family and get adopted.)
(The current conditions of the disaster areas.)
The owners themselves were victims of the Earthquake and Nuclear evacuation.
We see some small dogs at the evacuation centers as they were easily carried out,
but mid to large size dogs weren't able to be taken or accepted in the evacuation centers.
Owners had to leave their pets or set them free for survival.
Some of the dogs that weren't able to fend for themselves once set free perished.
The weather is good now, but will be getting hotter soon.
The heat is not only a burden for humans, but also for dogs. The threat of heat stroke rises.
We'd like to save all the dogs if possible, but there are dogs that are afraid of people,
and dogs that only respond to their owners
We'd like to rescue them, but some dogs runaway and aren't able to be catched.
While others get scared and become aggressive. We just realistically can't save them all.
Dogs that are trained and socialized have a better chance of being rescued or taken care of by others in the neighborhood.
Having a well trained, socialized dog is turning out to be very important.
(We are asking for donations to help rescue, rehabilitate and rehome the dogs affected by the Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Reactor disasters. Please visit http://bit.ly/japan-dog-rescue for more information and to donate.