The Japanese disaster of March 11 has resulted in many fascinating stories, most of the heartbreaking nature.
With so much death and destruction in its wake and the number of missing citizens still in the thousands, any family reunited is a near miracle, even if it is of the canine variety.
Last Friday, three weeks after the quake, a helicopter crew flying over a floating debris field off the coast spotted a dog on a roof. Scared by the sounds of the chopper, the dog went through a hole in the roof to hide. Thinking there might be humans inside the floating house, the crew lowered a rescue worker to investigate but found no humans. The dog, stressed out by its weeks alone, was reluctant to be saved and scrambled across the debris field until finally captured.
The pup wasn’t the first roof-top rescue at sea, nor was he the first creature saved in dramatic fashion. One week after the natural disaster, a helicopter crew saved a man from a floating rooftop. On the animal side of things, a four-foot long baby dolphin was pulled from a tsunami-created pond inland and returned to the sea.
Once video of the crew’s effort circulated on Japanese television, the dog’s owner recognized her beloved pet. The pair were reunited on Monday, and the dog, which is named Ban, was obviously much more excited to see its owner than the man who recsued it.
Hopefully, there will be many more stories of survival and rescue and reunion, but with each passing day the glimmer of hope is fading.
