This picture taken and released by Taiwans Central News Agency (CNA) on April 5, 2024, shows a rescuer and his dog searching the Taroko National Park after an earthquake in Hualien.
| Photo Credit: AFP
A former drug-sniffing dog who lost his job for being too friendly has emerged as the unlikely MVP of the Taiwan rescue teams searching for survivors of the island’s strongest earthquake in 25 years.
At least 13 people were killed and more than 1,140 injured by the magnitude-7.4 quake that struck the island on Wednesday, with strict building codes and widespread disaster readiness credited with averting an even bigger catastrophe.
But landslides around epicentre Hualien still blocked tunnels and roads, making the mountainous terrain around the county difficult for rescuers to access survivors and victims.
Footage released by the county fire department on Saturday showed Roger, an eight-year-old labrador, mounting a boulder that had fallen across a hiking trail near Hualien’s Taroko National Park.
“Have you found something? Let’s go over there,” said a rescuer to Roger, who did not budge.
The mayor of southern Kaohsiung — which sent a rescue team and dogs including Roger — said the labrador specialises in “rubble pile search and rescue” and that he is trained to search for survivors
“Roger must have found some clues, and his confused look made the handler feel something was up, and then they found the victim,” said Mayor Chen Chi-mai in a Facebook post titled “The Paw Paw Team’s feat”.
Handler Lee Hsin-hung said Roger located a victim “just five minutes after setting off”, and praised the dog’s confidence in an unfamiliar terrain.
Originally trained as a drug-sniffing dog as a pup, Roger was given his walking papers from that role because he was too friendly, which led to his switch to search-and-rescue missions.
“He’s very agile,” Mr. Lee told reporters. “Like this time when he went to Shakadang Trail, it’s not a rescue site we can simulate (in training) but he’s not scared.”
In pictures | Taiwan rocked by strongest earthquake in nearly 25 years
This photo taken by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024 shows Taiwan’s president-elect and current Vice-President Lai Ching-te (3rd R) surveying damage in Hualien, after a major earthquake hit Taiwan’s east.
In this photo released by the Taiwan Air Force Command, members of a search and rescue team prepare to deploy on a Taiwan Air Force C-130 from southern Taiwan’s Pingtung military air base en route for Hualien on on April 3, 2024.
In this photo released by the Hualien City Government, government workers and journalists are seen near firefighters working near a leaning building in the aftermath of an earthquake in Hualien, eastern Taiwan on April 3, 2024.
Firefighters work at the site where a building collapsed following the earthquake, in Hualien, Taiwan, in this handout provided by Taiwan’s National Fire Agency on April 3, 2024.
An area of a damaged hotel is cordoned off, following an earthquake in Hualien, Taiwan on April 3, 2024.
In this image taken from a video footage run by TVBS, residents rescue a child from a partially collapsed building in Hualien, eastern Taiwan on April 3, 2024.
This photo taken by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024 shows people looking at a damaged building in Hualien, after a major earthquake hit Taiwan’s east.
In this image taken from a video footage run by TVBS, a partially collapsed building is seen in Hualien, eastern Taiwan on April 3, 2024.
This screengrab taken from video footage captured by an onlooker shows rockfall from a mountain near Kanan bridge in Hualien county on April 3, 2024 after a major earthquake hit Taiwan’s east.
This photo taken by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024 shows emergency workers attending to a survivor, who had been trapped in a damaged building, in New Taipei City, after a major earthquake hit Taiwan’s east.
Passengers wait to board a south bound train as some train services were suspended in the aftermath of an earthquake in Taipei, Taiwan on April 3, 2024.
This photo taken by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024 shows damage to buildings in Xindian district of New Taipei City, after a major earthquake hit Taiwan’s east.
This photo taken by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024 shows a barricade erected around debris in the compound of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei after a major earthquake hit Taiwan’s east.
This photo taken by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024 shows emergency workers working to locate survivors from a damaged building in New Taipei City, after a major earthquake hit Taiwan’s east.
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The soon-to-retire dog has won hearts in Taiwan for his boisterous nature, lunging at reporters’ microphones during interviews and also destroying a chew toy given to him after his mission.
Another search dog, three-year-old Wilson, a Jack Russell terrier, is getting accolades as well after footage emerged in Taiwanese media of his persistent scramble through immovable boulders.
The quake’s aftermath was Wilson’s first mission, and he located two victims — a performance that handler Tseng Ching-lin said he was “surprised” about.
“He did not perform that well at tests compared with other dogs,” he told a reporter as he carried a tail-wagging Wilson in his arms.
“He’s very smart, but he likes to play and he runs to other places,” Mr. Tseng said, as Wilson started to bite the microphone.
At least six people remain unaccounted for, while the number of people who can’t be accessed has steadily shrunk as authorities managed to fix roads and clear tunnels over the weekend.
