rescue-en

Dramatic rescue of a young Shiba

On November 17th, a stray dog somehow found its way onto a concrete hillside in Tokushima on the southwestern island of Shikoku. The almond-coloured Shiba mix became trapped for six days 70 meters (230 feet) high on a concrete grid, which was built to prevent rockslides, and started howling in misery. The area's residents noticed the dog and began rescue attempts.

The young dog has become a national darling in Japan after its four-hour rescue operation was aired live on television. Hundreds of residents gathered and major networks broadcast live as 17 firefighters, some on top of the slope and others underneath, tried to catch the dog.

The frightened dog ran away from handheld nets, leading firefighters to provoke it to fall into a net set up underneath. The mesmerised crowd gasped and then broke into applause.

"It was difficult at first. Since it was a wild dog, it wasn't used to humans and was afraid of them approaching," said a fire department official in Tokushima prefecture. "We spread a net beneath the dog's location, and when we tried to catch it from the side with our nets, the dog was so surprised that he jumped and fell into the net below," he said by telephone.

The dog is now receiving care at an animal shelter – and starred on the front page of evening editions of national newspapers.

"Telephone lines are saturated as the animal shelter is receiving nationwide calls from people hoping to adopt it," the fire department official said. However, after going hungry and thirsty for six days, the dog may risk death, an animal health care official said on television. "But if the dog does live, hopefully it will recover and find a new owner," he said.