Would you like to help the dogs and cats of Japan?

Here is a link that you can use to send help to the abandoned, hurt, and lost pets on the island of Japan.  The pets will be the last to receive any help, if they ever do.  I understand that there are thousands of people and children in Japan in great need, but there are many helpless and frightened animals also.  I am giving to both groups and hope you will use this link to help the pets.  The Red Cross is a great place to give for the humans in need.


https://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/store/item.do?siteId=310&itemId=44084&adId=69313&placementId=183038&origin=ERA_031611_ARS_Html

Related articles

• How you can help save the dogs and cats of Japan (retrieverman.wordpress.com)
• VIDEO: Dog Refuses to Leave Companion's Side in Japan Aftermath (dogs.icanhascheezburger.com)
• Japan Rescuers Pull Together To Save Pets (treehugger.com)
• Tashirojima: 'Cat Island' Safe After Tsunami (nowpublic.com)

More about how our pets can help in Japan

 Here is an excerpt of an email I received and feel that I should pass along to you.  Our wonderful dogs can be of service to us during and after natural disasters.  Here is only one group that utilize dogs natural abilities to help find victims of this horrible disaster. 

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By: : Janet Reineck, Search Dog Foundation Development Director

SUNDAY, MARCH 13 – 8pm PST

Six Canine Disaster Search Teams trained by the National Disaster
Search Dog Foundation (SDF) have arrived in Japan and will soon
be traveling to the devastated region where the skills of the
canines are critically needed to use find people still trapped in
the rubble.

The teams have their gear ready and are waiting to leave the
Misawa Air Base and head to Ofunato City on the North East coast
of Japan where they will be conducting reconnaissance and primary
searches. The group is divided into the RED team (Jasmine &
Cadillac, Eric & Riley, Gary & Baxter), and the BLUE team
(Bill & Hunter, Linda & Joe, Ron & Pearl).

The teams were called into action on Friday by USAID as part of
Los Angeles County Task Force 2. They traveled on a chartered
plane out of LAX together with Virginia Task Force 1 (America’s
other international Task Force). Some 75 tons of rescue equipment
and supplies for each Task Force were sent into the disaster zone
via military transport.

The teams flew by way of Alaska where the plane touched down to
re-fuel. An airport van shuttled the dogs and their handlers to
the snow so they could stretch their legs (and paws!). They
landed at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan on Saturday at
10:30pm PST. The group of 12 dogs did well on the flight over and
bedded down with handlers to rest after their long journey.

The job of the dogs is to find live victims, conscious or
unconscious, in the debris left by the earthquake and Tsunami.
All rescue personnel will be awaiting a “Bark Alert” from the
dogs, letting them know there is someone in need of rescue.
Everything the teams have learned during their intensive training
will be put to use in saving lives.

Since SDF’s founding in 1996, their teams have been part of 75
deployments—including the World Trade Center attacks, Hurricane
Katrina, and the Haiti disaster, where they helped bring 12
people to safety. Each time the teams deploy they come back with
crucial lessons that are shared with all Search Teams to sharpen
training techniques and tactics and enhance emergency response in
our country…and abroad.

SDF will train 21 new teams in 2011 at a cost of $15,000 per team
to be ready for the next local, national or international
disaster – at no cost to taxpayers or the government.

For more information about the Search Teams or to make a donation
to turn rescued dogs into rescuers, help form our new 2011 teams,
and provide the highest level training to our existing teams:
visit www.SearchDogFoundation.org, and follow the teams on
Facebook and Twitter.

Related articles

• 5 things you can do for the animals of japan (susanpi.com)
• Doctors, aid workers and rescue dogs get to work in Japan (cnn.com)

The News in Japan gets worse and worse and the animals are left behind

As  someone who has lived near Japan before, I am very concerned for the well being and safety of all the dogs and cats on that island.  This culture does not provide any care for the animals that are now displaced by natural disaster.  There will be many lost animals who will starve to death or be killed by other starving pets.  This is not acceptable.  Please read this article and then reach out to help these poor beings.   You can read this article and others like it on Dogtime.

Help animals displaced by Japan's earthquake and tsunami

by Leslie Smith on Sunday March 13, 2011.

Sherri, a friend of a friend of mine, lives in Japan and has volunteered for four years with ARK (Animal Refuge Kansai). Sherri reports that while her community has largely been spared fatalities due to the earthquake and tsunami, she's only about a six hour drive from major devastation.

Rescuers are attempting to gain access to some of the hardest hit areas, and ARK is currently preparing makeshift shelters to accommodate what is expected to be a massive influx of traumatized, injured, hungry and thirsty dogs and cats. (After the 1995 Kobe earthquake, ARK took in 600 animals.)

Animal welfare is virtually non-existent in Japan, according to Sherri, so the efforts of individual rescue groups and shelters make all the difference for animals in times of national catastrophes. I encourage you to check out the ARK website and help if you can.