Picture from Japan – Owner and Dog Reunited - pic

[Kadie]

Picture from Japan – Owner and Dog Reunited
March 13, 2011 by Robert Pregulman

Two survivors in Japan, reunited by a rescuer.



from...
http://www.seattledogspot.com/2011/03/13/picture-from-japan-owner-and-dog-reunited/


and this...


Two survivors: A displaced woman cuddles her cat at an evacuation center in Kawamatamachi, Fukushima Prefecture, two days after a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake devastated northeastern Japan.
Photo: Kazuki Wakasugi / The Yomiuri Shimbun

from sfgate.com

[Lucinda]

1. Thank you.

♥♥♥

[ZombieHorde]

2. I imagine those pets are a great source of comfort. Recommended. nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. SO beautiful...

Recommended.

:hug:

[October]

4. K&R So heartwarming

[snagglepuss]

5. Thank you.

[calimary]

6. Clinging to it as though it's all he has. And that's probably exactly what's true.

And the lady with her cat.

Agonizing. I can't even begin to imagine the pain. Our pets are our friends and in many cases our therapy. I'm glad these people were reunited with their pets.

So sad.

:cry:

[adigal]

22. I thought the same thing...that dog may be all he has left

and he is just crying, in happiness and despair. Really a heartbreaking photo. I am crying right now.

[calimary]

29. I remember watching the coverage of Hurricane Katrina and saw this one segment

in which a young man had to leave his dog behind. And as he handed the dog over, he just bent over the back of his pickup truck in sheer agony and sobbed. I still get choked up just thinking about it.

People need their animals. They're so often taken for granted and they're so critically important to the psyche, the morale, companionship, everything. Sometimes one's pet is the only friend one has.

[Jamastiene]

63. I wish there was a rescue organization that

could rescue people's pets in situations like these and (when they can) keep up with which pet belongs to who and maybe return them later, if possible. I understand that would be really hard. It would not be a 100% success rate, for sure, but to even rescue, protect, and return some (however many possible) of the pets later on would be worth it. Even if only a few could be reunited later down the road, it would be worth it.

What people go through in catastrophic events when they lose their pets on top of everything else leaves a feeling of loss that never goes away. To go homeless and lose 4 cats in one day due to something I went through has affected me even 8 years later. The trauma of that comes back more often than people might think. Seeing Katrina and now this has brought it all back, like it just happened.

I would say for many of us, pets are more than our only friends. They are our family.

[trud]

65. I would never leave my pet behind

I know sometimes the police drag you off, but that's the only way.

[Brigid]

7. Now this will send me off to bed with a smile.

Thank you for posting. :)

[malaise]

8. How nice that they can have their pets at the shelters

Lovely pics

[ellie]

9. Kitty and puppy over there!

I don't know what I would do if I lost my pets.

[blondeatlast]

10. Kitteh looks very much like my Spark! Add a little yellow "dirt across the nose

and left cheek and that's him.

wonderful--I can only imagine the joy they must be feeling in the midst of all the trauma.

God bless all of Japan's denizens (2 and 4 legged alike)!

[pinkkillersheep]

11. I definitely needed this.

[Kadie]

21. Welcome to DR pinkkillersheep!

:hi:

[Voice for Peace]

12. my first thought when I woke this morning

with kitties biting my toes and trying to wake me
was that so many loved pets must have been swept
away in the tsunami. It's so sweet to see this
picture amidst so much sorrow for so many.

[get the red out]

54. Me too, as I looked at my dog this morning

I thought that also as my dog and I were trying to wake up for our run, like we do every morning. My God, so many precious animals as well as the people were lost. I understand what these two people must have felt as they held their pets, at least there was some bit of love in their lives saved.

Bless all these beings that were in the way of this devistation. I simply can't imagine.......

[niyad]

13. thank you for sharing this--goddess knows we need every bit of good news we can get

[myrna minx]

14. K&R

:cry:

[shireen]

15. how to help the animals caught up in this crisis

Best Friends posted this:
http://network.bestfriends.org/golocal/international/16856/news.aspx

Rescue groups, in the wake of the disaster in Japan, gear up to save animals.

Elizabeth Oliver, chairman of the Board of Animal Refuge Kansai (ARK) recalls the days after the Kobe earthquake in 1995, “From our experience of the great Hanshin earthquake on January 17, 1995, we know that the number of homeless pets may be immense. …

“In the case of Kobe, most of the animals that came to us came from the emergency centers where people had sought refuge with their pets. Others were ones that had been rescued from destroyed houses or off the street by local people. In that one year we took in 600 animals, mainly dogs and cats, but also rabbits and birds. …”

Preparing for the worst

“Here at ARK we are preparing for what might be a huge influx of animals. We already have some facilities in place and a team of experienced staff able to deal with traumatized animals. We may have to build emergency shelters as well. The logistics of getting animal from the Tohoku/Sendai area is immense, since roads and other transport links have been cut and may take time to restore. Our only means to get animals down to Osaka may be by helicopter, which was one method we used after the Kobe earthquake.

“We will use our resources and know-how to help as many animals as we can, following this terrible disaster.”

....


Here's a site that is splitting contributions among some rescue groups:
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support
The paypal chipin form is in Japanese but the fields are obvious and the currency is in US dollars.

[Hissyspit]

25. Ugh, only $21,000.

I just donated.

[Maru Kitteh]

41. Thanks for the links! Donating to help the furbabies.

[emilyg]

16. Big k.r

[Scurrilous]

17. K & R

:thumbsup:

[highplainsdem]

18. K&R

[KT2000]

19. Love - love - love

as important to our survival as food, air and water.
Thanks for posting this.

[Kceres]

20. I've been thinking so much about the animals, the dogs, and cats.

Pets torn from their loved-ones. Yes, yes, yes, I'm heart-broken about the loss and suffering of humanity most of all, but still.

[glinda]

23. Do not apologize. Many animals were killed and will die from this.

[Hissyspit]

24. Me, too. Since the beginning, I've thought about all the cats and dogs trapped

as it was becoming clear how bad this was. Strange that there's been almost no talk of it. This OP was the first I'd seen.

[WoodyD]

47. Me too

I have to admit I always wonder what happens to the dogs and cats in disasters like this. Excuse me . . . I have something in my eye, and I think my dog needs a hug.

[JeffersonChick]

26. Omg. Because, I haven't cried ENOUGH lately

Thanks. I reposted it on my FB

[calimary]

66. Yeah, I did too.

And to think - there are heartless bastard teabaggers out there high-fiving each other because this is somehow God visiting karma upon Japan for Pearl Harbor.

These days one of my favorite quotes, and one I find myself using/thinking more frequently than ever, is the one somebody posted here from Mike Malloy: (paraphrasing) "can I say how much I hate these people?"

[suffragette]

27. Love shining through in those photos

K&R

[Cetacea]

28. K&R. Powerful photos.

Thank you for posting them.

[Raine]

30. Aw so sweet

those pix really touch one's heart. :-)

[Evolve_Already]

31. Oh-My-Gosh

This post is yet another sad reminder of being without all 6 of my fur friends for almost 3 weeks now.

But all 6 are faring well unlike the many in Japan. My wish is for all lost pets to be reunited with their human families as soon as possible.

[xchrom]

32. ...

:applause:

[stuntcat]

33. ..

:cry:

[Suziq]

34. K&R

:cry:

[Beacool]

35. Oooohhhh, that is so sweet.

The cat doesn't look worse for wear, but the dog appears to have gone through hell. The human toll is horrific enough, but I wonder how many pets were lost too.

:(

[madmax]

36. LOVE - it's a beautiful thing. nt k&r

[tavalon]

37. Those are so precious

There are so few good stories coming from Japan. My heart hurts for them.

[jwirr]

38. Sometimes when you are really hurting your pet is the best comfort

there is.

[reggie the dog]

52. so true

it is very nice to have a doggie friend... or a cat...or whatnot;;;

[lumberjack_jeff]

39. Is that a real fur coat? n/t

[Maru Kitteh]

42. No. It's clearly a synthetic.

[lumberjack_jeff]

49. Thanks.

[somone]

44. It's faux fur

http://web-japan.org/trends/09_fashion/fas100128.html

[OnyxCollie]

40. K&R. nt

[dhill926]

43. this really puts a human.....

and animal face on this. Very moving........thanks.

[joeybee12]

45. Thanks...I'm a sucker for this stuff...knr

[meow mix]

46. k&r

tear jerker

[MountainLaurel]

48. I can't imagine

I have 4 furkids and the thought of any of them being lost out there tears me up.

[feslen]

50. awesome. this brightens my day. I hope more survivors are found

both of the 2-legged and the 4-legged kinds

[reggie the dog]

51. broo roo

and other happy doggie noises....

[CrawlingChaos]

53. OMG, that got me

How I wish that all 2-legged and 4-legged companions could be reunited like this.

Is it too early to start drinking?

[The Doctor.]

56. "And as God as my witness, I swear..."

Ok, JK.

:hide:

That's wonderful to see. Some sort of relief under so much stress must be so very good for someone.

OE- Supposed to be reply to OP, but whatever. ;)

[webdiva]

55. Touching

Very touching, thanks for posting!

[lunatica]

57. The rescuer looks like he's crying too

As am I.

[BrklynLiberal]

58. Heartwarming moments. Thanks for posting.

[cindyperry2010]

59. How sweet

made me cry

[chill_wind]

60. K & R.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

61. During Katrina, they forced people to abandon their pets.

Many wouldn't and suffered rather than leaving them behind. The US air force learned a lesson from this and knowing how pets are important family members, now helps service people and their families stay together by helping them move their pets from base to base. I think my son told me the air force was going to pay 60% of the shipping, so he could take his dog to England from their US base. :) :) :)

[Jamastiene]

62. I think I have something in my eye.

:cry:

[Kurovski]

64. K&R. (nt)

[tex-wyo-dem]

67. Thank you...

this truely warms the heart in such a terrible time.

[cindyperry2010]

68. The ball and chain and I have had this discussion

god forbid something bad happened here (besides Rand Paul getting elected) all of use leave or none of us. I am not leaving my animals.

[alphafemale]

69. The compassion showing through the face and posture of the rescuer is moving as well.

Thanks for posting this.

[shockra]

70. FREE KIBBLE.

All clicks today at www.freekibble.com will result in kibble donations for animal relief in Japan. If one million pieces of kibble are reached, HALO, Purely for Pets, will match it.

Both dogs and cats!