Sniffing and burrowing his way through the rubble of Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes, Tsunami the mixed-breed border collie was out on one last job before retirement.Recognizable by his heterochromia — with one eye brown and the other blue — he has helped locate several people trapped beneath the debris over the past 10 days.“Our four-legged rescuer managed to save 25 people from the rubble of buildings that collapsed in the earthquakes,” Venezuela’s government said Thursday.After years of service, this will be Tsunami’s final mission, according to a post by K-SAR ECID, Venezuela’s canine disaster response team.“He retires at the top of his game, proving his courage and giving everything in the field,” the group said.Nearly 30,000 first responders and more than 3,300 international rescuers have been racing against time to find survivors of the deadly earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24. And dozens of highly skilled search-and-rescue dogs, deployed with teams from more than 20 countries, are helping to turn some tales of disaster into stories of survival.The dogs, specially trained to detect human scent, have spent days searching for people trapped beneath the rubble of nearly 200 buildings that collapsed following the two powerful back-to-back earthquakes.They can be seen in widely shared viral footage, searching through damaged buildings, crawling under broken slabs of concrete, and squeezing into tight spaces beyond the reach of human handlers.Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said that some 137 search-and-rescue dogs took part in the operations.Another member of this international crack team is a Belgian Malinois named Bart, from Argentina, who helped rescue two children alive from the rubble and helped recover six bodies, presidential spokesperson Adrián Ravier said Tuesday. Bart is part of a military mission sent by the government of President Javier Milei to help relief efforts in Venezuela, including search-and-rescue dogs from the Argentine Marines.“We want to extend special recognition to all rescue dogs for their indispensable work,” Ravier said during a news conference.According to Argentina’s Ministry of Defense, the dogs are trained to operate in complex disaster environments and perform two critical tasks alongside their handlers – locating survivors and recovering victims trapped beneath collapsed structures.Rambo, another Belgian Malinois trained to find survivors, arrived in Venezuela as part of El Salvador’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team.Fernando Portillo, Rambo’s handler and a member of USAR El Salvador, said each search begins with the dog surveying the area. Once Rambo detects the scent of a living person, he alerts rescuers by loudly barking, guiding them toward the right location.“Rambo’s training, discipline and search capabilities have made him a key member of the Salvadoran contingent, supporting rescue operations as a true four-legged hero,” El Salvador’s presidential press secretariat said.Some dogs even ended up searching for fellow canines.That was the case for Mali, a member of Mexico’s International Topos Rescue Brigade, who found a white Maltese dog alive beneath the rubble. Mali also helped direct searches that led to the recovery of six bodies, rescuer Miguel Ángel García told CNN.Other dogs that took part in the round-the-clock rescue operations included border collies Orly and Balam, members of the Mexican Red Cross; Dastan, a Belgian Malinois from the Bogotá Fire Department; and Ivi and Tina, who joined rescue teams from Spain.On Friday, Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez honored the dogs by awarding them the title of “Venezuela’s Canine Heroes” during a ceremony in La Guaira, the coastal state hardest hit by the quakes.Among those recognized were the four dogs that accompanied Colombia’s rescue teams, along with four from Slovakia, five from Spain, six from Jordan and Portugal, and eight from the Czech Republic.At least 2,954 people have died as a result of the devastating earthquakes, the government said Saturday on social media. There is no official count on the number of missing.
Sniffing and burrowing his way through the rubble of Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes, Tsunami the mixed-breed border collie was out on one last job before retirement.
Recognizable by his heterochromia — with one eye brown and the other blue — he has helped locate several people trapped beneath the debris over the past 10 days.
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“Our four-legged rescuer managed to save 25 people from the rubble of buildings that collapsed in the earthquakes,” Venezuela’s government said Thursday.
After years of service, this will be Tsunami’s final mission, according to a post by K-SAR ECID, Venezuela’s canine disaster response team.
“He retires at the top of his game, proving his courage and giving everything in the field,” the group said.
Nearly 30,000 first responders and more than 3,300 international rescuers have been racing against time to find survivors of the deadly earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24. And dozens of highly skilled search-and-rescue dogs, deployed with teams from more than 20 countries, are helping to turn some tales of disaster into stories of survival.
The dogs, specially trained to detect human scent, have spent days searching for people trapped beneath the rubble of nearly 200 buildings that collapsed following the two powerful back-to-back earthquakes.
They can be seen in widely shared viral footage, searching through damaged buildings, crawling under broken slabs of concrete, and squeezing into tight spaces beyond the reach of human handlers.
Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said that some 137 search-and-rescue dogs took part in the operations.
Another member of this international crack team is a Belgian Malinois named Bart, from Argentina, who helped rescue two children alive from the rubble and helped recover six bodies, presidential spokesperson Adrián Ravier said Tuesday. Bart is part of a military mission sent by the government of President Javier Milei to help relief efforts in Venezuela, including search-and-rescue dogs from the Argentine Marines.
“We want to extend special recognition to all rescue dogs for their indispensable work,” Ravier said during a news conference.
According to Argentina’s Ministry of Defense, the dogs are trained to operate in complex disaster environments and perform two critical tasks alongside their handlers – locating survivors and recovering victims trapped beneath collapsed structures.
Rambo, another Belgian Malinois trained to find survivors, arrived in Venezuela as part of El Salvador’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team.
Fernando Portillo, Rambo’s handler and a member of USAR El Salvador, said each search begins with the dog surveying the area. Once Rambo detects the scent of a living person, he alerts rescuers by loudly barking, guiding them toward the right location.
“Rambo’s training, discipline and search capabilities have made him a key member of the Salvadoran contingent, supporting rescue operations as a true four-legged hero,” El Salvador’s presidential press secretariat said.
Some dogs even ended up searching for fellow canines.
That was the case for Mali, a member of Mexico’s International Topos Rescue Brigade, who found a white Maltese dog alive beneath the rubble. Mali also helped direct searches that led to the recovery of six bodies, rescuer Miguel Ángel García told CNN.
Other dogs that took part in the round-the-clock rescue operations included border collies Orly and Balam, members of the Mexican Red Cross; Dastan, a Belgian Malinois from the Bogotá Fire Department; and Ivi and Tina, who joined rescue teams from Spain.
On Friday, Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez honored the dogs by awarding them the title of “Venezuela’s Canine Heroes” during a ceremony in La Guaira, the coastal state hardest hit by the quakes.
Among those recognized were the four dogs that accompanied Colombia’s rescue teams, along with four from Slovakia, five from Spain, six from Jordan and Portugal, and eight from the Czech Republic.
At least 2,954 people have died as a result of the devastating earthquakes, the government said Saturday on social media. There is no official count on the number of missing.
