Animal Rescue Efforts Continue in Japan

PETA Asia staffer Ashley Fruno—who has been in Japan working with Isabella Gallaon-Aoki from the local group Animal Friends Niigata since last Saturday—has witnessed tremendous devastation and heartbreak since arriving in the region. But she has also seen people courageously putting their own lives at risk in order to safeguard their animal companions, and aid workers going above and beyond their mission to recover human bodies by saving animals who have miraculously survived the earthquake and tsunami. This is Ashley's most recent update from the hardest hit areas of Japan:

Thursday night, Isabella received a call from a local veterinarian who said that he had some leads on where animals in need of rescue might be. He was willing to help out in any way that he could, but he was unable to leave his house because of the gas shortage.

We went to some of the devastated areas and saw our first sign of life in the debris—a feral cat hiding among the rubble. We were unable to catch her but left her food. We checked on many houses with doghouses outside, but there were no dogs to be found. We also checked out two pet stores, one of which had no animals in sight and the other, a store that sold only birds, was almost reduced to a pile of rubble. We searched through the cages and debris, but were unable to find any live birds. Most of the cages were smashed, so the birds who were able to escape probably flew away, and those who were trapped likely drowned. We found the bodies of five birds in one cage alone. 

Friday morning, we visited Sendai's city animal shelter and offered assistance. It has had an influx of animals as well as many reports of missing animals. Fortunately, it is not full yet and will continue to take in lost and abandoned animals. The animal shelter has adequate supplies now but will contact us if more are needed. It will also likely need the help of Isabella's shelter to take in animals when it eventually fills to capacity. Shelter workers said that the phone line was just restored, so they know that the onslaught is coming as many people with animals have been unable to call.

Shelter officials mentioned that a soldier found a cat when he was recovering human bodies. The cat was terrified and hiding in a cat bed. The soldier brought him to the animal shelter, bed and all, and the cat will be put up for adoption if his guardians don't claim him.

We spent the rest of the day at evacuation centers handing out pet food and asking for leads on animals who had been abandoned. One evacuation center was housing 10 dogs, and some of the evacuees reportedly had cats at home they were checking on, so we left a huge supply of food.

One of the center coordinators told us a touching story about his Akita named Shane. When the man heard the tsunami warning, he rushed to warn his neighbors after letting Shane free in the yard. He tried to get back to his house to get Shane, but the tsunami was rapidly approaching, and he was forced to go to the school on higher ground. He said he had given up hope of seeing Shane alive again. But six hours later, one of the people staying in the center said that they saw a dog outside. The man went to look, and it was Shane! The dog had never been to the school before, but somehow, his instincts lead him there. Shane had managed to swim through chest-high water to be reunited with his guardian. The man took us to Shane, who was staying at his house, which is now dry. Shane must have clung to debris, as he had cuts on both his elbows. We instructed the guardian on how to clean Shane's wounds and gave him some ointment. We left fuel with the veterinarian, and he will return to check on Shane and provide him with antibiotics.

Shane being examined by a veterinarian after finding his way back to his guardian, who had to leave him behind during the tsunami.

   

The veterinarian will serve as the "mobile vet" for Sendai. Isabella is going to keep him supplied with food, and the World Veterinary Association representative we have been working with will give him medication and other supplies. He plans to visit all the local evacuation centers distributing food and administering veterinary care to animals in need.

Recovery from this disaster is going to take months, if not years. People in the hardest hit areas will continue to need pet food and veterinary supplies for weeks to come, as will the animal shelters, which will also need to house animals until their homeless guardians are able to find somewhere to live. You can help by donating to PETA U.S.' Animal Emergency Fund, which provides grants to PETA Asia and other organizations doing rescue work.

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  The first member of an international animal rights group to reach the disaster area, PETA Asia-Pacific senior campaigner Ashley Fruno has been in Japan with Isabella Gallaon-Aoki of Animal Friends Niigata since taking the first flight to Tokyo after the airport opened on Saturday night.

  There are few signs of life in the hardest-hit areas, but Ashley and Isabella have encountered many citizens who have stayed in their badly damaged homes for days because many evacuation centers are not allowing companion animals inside. With countless people being forced to evacuate because of radiation fears and with animals being barred from many emergency shelters and flights out of the country, animal shelters like the one run by Isabella's group are being inundated with animals.

  
  
  

  

  
  

  In all their media interviews, Ashley and Isabella have been urging people never to leave their animals behind—if conditions aren't safe for humans, they aren't safe for animals either.

  In addition to pitching in at the badly overtaxed Niigata shelter, Ashley has been providing food to animals left behind by evacuees as well as to animals whose guardians are having a hard time getting supplies because of long lines of hundreds of people waiting to get into stores. She is also working with local veterinarians to rescue and care for the few surviving animals they are able to find.

  Here's what Ashley has to say about her rescue efforts near the epicenter of the earthquake:

  The tsunami ripped through the region with such force that cars were smashed into houses, debris was swept for miles through rice fields, and entire families drowned in their homes. In the hardest hit areas, we saw no animal life whatsoever. We did see some paw prints in the mud at one point, but they didn't lead anywhere, and we could not find any animals nearby.

  When we first arrived in Sendai, gasoline lines stretched for miles and hundreds of people were lined up outside supermarkets to gather whatever supplies they could from the nearly bare shelves. We came upon a woman carrying her dog, a young sheltie who was terrified and stressed by the earthquake and aftershocks and the chaos that ensued. Tears came to the woman's eyes as she told us that she had risked her life for three days while staying in her still-shaking house because the evacuation center would not allow her to take her dog with her. She had finally been able to take her dog to a family member's home in an area of the city that had not been hit by the tsunami.

  

  
  We spent several hours searching for the two dogs who appeared in ahighly publicized You Tube video. One of the dogs appeared to be sick or injured, and his friend was protecting him. Someone gave us a tip as to where they might be, but it appeared to be inaccurate, as it seemed unlikely that anyone could have survived in the named area. We were relieved to learn later that both dogs had been rescued—the healthier dog is now in a shelter, and the sick dog is in a veterinary clinic.In all their media interviews, Ashley and Isabella have been urging people never to leave their animals behind—if conditions aren't safe for humans, they aren't safe for animals either.

  Ashley and Isabella continue to visit the worst-affected areas in search of animals who need help, and they remain in touch with the volunteer relief center, city office, and prefecture office, which plans to set up a temporary shelter for animals in the northern part of the city. Ashley reports that the most pressing issue now is finding temporary housing for animals whose families are homeless or who have been forced to evacuate.

  You can help by sending a polite e-mail or fax to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and asking the U.S. Department of State to allow U. S. nationals to take their animal companions with them when they evacuate Japan. You can also help fund Ashley's work and other rescue work by donating toPETA U.S.' Animal Emergency Fund, which provides grants to organizations that do rescue work, including our affiliate PETA Asia-Pacific.