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HONOLULU,
HI (USA) — If
it hasn't been the most expensive, the most elaborate or the most
publicized dog rescue in history, it's surely been the most
complicated.
But the sea-drama came to a happy conclusion yesterday as the crew
of the American Quest, the 100ft. salvage tug that had
originally been commissioned to rescue the dog three weeks ago,
reached the burned ship Insiko 1907, boarded and found the
white pooch lying on the deck, shaky but in fairly good condition,
said Hawaiian
Humane Society (HHS) president Pamela Burns.
At about 2:30pm (HST), two crewmen offered the dog some food, and
she came up to one of them, reported the U.S.
Coast Guard. The Coast Guard became involved in the operation
on Monday after the
drifting tanker, still carrying some 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel,
was deemed to be an environmental hazard to Johnston Island, now about
100 miles away.
Two-year-old "Forgea" (pronounced "fu gee", a
Mandarin word meaning "good fortune") was reported to be
"drinking and eating and happily back in possession of the
crew," according to Coast Guard Capt. Gilbert Kanazawa yesterday.
Our first glimpse of the little white dog came from a video
released by the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday, April 23.
The internationally-famous mutt had not been seen since Monday,
when she eluded rescuers and hid below deck on the 256-foot freighter.
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One factor that may have complicated this week's rescue is the language
barrier. Fishing crews who were the first to make contact reportedly
tried their best to speak to the dog in her native tongue, Mandarin.
Mandarin is a challenging language which can easily be misrepresented
by a non-fluent speaker. For example, jiu ming means "to
save a drowning victim" whereas chong xi means "to save
the patient's life by giving him a wedding to counteract bad luck."
It is understandable how the dog may have decided to flee.
But according to the HHS, the elusive pooch has now been safely
contained in a kennel by the crew of the American Quest and will be
returned to Honolulu for treatment and quarantine.
Reportedly, the dog's Taiwanese family is not interested in claiming
the dog ("If we bring it back to Taiwan, we are afraid it won't get
along with our other two dogs and our family," the wife of Taiwanese
sea-captain Chung Chin-po told China radio on Thursday).
Nevertheless, while much of Forgea's future is still uncertain, the
worst seems over for now, and much interest has been expressed in adopting
her.
Ms. Burns comments: "Never before
in our experience has a single dog captivated the attention of animal
lovers
from all over the world. We are very thrilled and so relieved that
Forgea is
safe."
FINAL
UPDATE: May 2
Shipwrecked Dog Comes Home... But Who the Heck is 'HokGet'?
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