Wonderful World Wednesday
White Dog and the WDA have been a bit overwhelmed at the number of pets in need of a forever home being posted as a result the Mayzie and Ranger's wonderful tribute to their Grandpa J. We are so grateful to Mayzie's people for their idea and For the prizes they are sponsoring for five rescue shelters. Because of their Rescue Me Week, MANY dogs, cats, bunnies, birdies, and other creatures are being highlighted around our blog community...their stories are being told...and some are hopefully attracting the attention of possible forever families.
The flip side is, of course, the fact that there are SO many in need of homes and love and security. But we believe because of Mayzie...and everyone who is posting an animal to spread the word...that the dream that one day no creature will go homeless or hungry or unloved is not an impossible one.
Rescue comes in many forms from many avenues: from posting a kitty to driving a transport to donating old towels to adopting an "undesireable." And lets not forget those who every night remember to ask the Universe to "bless those in need." The difference in each life, collectively, is what will bring about absolute change. And change, in this case, is a wonderful thing.
To celebrate second chances and the sideways miracles that sometime happen in rescue, White Dog and Quinn have chosen to share the story of Maruko, who proves rescue sometimes means finding your way home.
The Amazing Story of Japanese Earthquake Survivor Dog, Maruku
Posted on October 19 2011 http://gimundo.com/news/article/japanese-earthquake-survivor-dog-maruku/
The Japanese earthquake last summer ripped a 14-year-old dog named Maruko away from her loving family. She was trapped beneath the house’s rubble for 11 days without access to food or water. Miraculously, she was finally found, and was brought to a shelter. Once there, however she was labeled as aggressive because she was biting at handlers out of fear. She only had five days to find her owners, or she would be euthanized.
Maruko’s owners were notified in time, but they were staying at a shelter too, and dogs were not allowed there. The pound was set to put Maruko to sleep when, with just hours to spare, the Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support (JEARS) group stepped in.
Kate O’Callaghan, an Irish expat with JEARS, volunteered to fly from Okinawa to Iwate Prefecture to rescue Maruko. “When we finally saw the dog, she was inside a cage shaking with fright, Maruko wasn’t aggressive, she was traumatized.”
The JEARS rescuers didn’t know about Maruko’s owners, however, so the dog was brought to one of JEARS’ shelters, then to an associated rescue group, HEART Tokushima. Maruko’s owners knew that their dog was still alive, but had no idea how to find her.
Finally, in September, YouTube solved the puzzle. The owners came across a video on JEARS’ blog called “Maruko’s story,” and contacted the organization. They were finally living in a home again, and were ready to reunite with their beloved dog. HEART volunteers traveled by plane with Maruko from their shelter in Shikoku to Sendai, where the dog was met by her family, then driven home to Iwate Prefecture. It was an 800-mile journey, but she was finally back.
“Her spirit is young, she is always smiling,” HEART founder Susan Mercer said of Maruko. “She understood she had a second chance at life, so she wanted to live it to the fullest.”
REMINDER FROM THE ESKIE COUNTDOWN CLOCK: The Third Annual Worldwide Moment is 11:00pm GMT on November 14th...FIVE days from today. In our time zone (Mountain Time) The Worldwide Moment occurs at 4pm.