The devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 11 March was a tragedy that affected the world. Anipals and their humans felt helpless and sad as they saw images and reports of devastation appear. Through all the gloom, stories of amazing animal survivors began to emerge, reminding us once again that moments of joy can be found even in times of despair.

The incredible rescue of Ban, a two-year-old, mixed-breed dog found drifting in the ocean, touched hearts around the world. Three weeks after the tsunami struck she was found over a mile out to sea, scampering around on the detached roof of a house. Rescued by the Japan Coast Guard, she has been reunited with her human, who recognized her from news coverage. “…I want to cherish her when I take her back…We will never let her go,” she told local reporters after the tail-wagging reunion.

One little corgi waited three days on the roof of his home until he was rescued. He had been left with a note that warned, “He bites!” but he was so grateful to his heroes that he decided no nipping was necessary.

Other heroic humans risked exposure to radiation in order to help a pack of shelties who were left behind. They found the dogs waiting near their human’s home. “They were waiting for their owner,” according to one of their rescuers. They managed to save 20 dogs. The dogs’ mom, who had been worrying about her furry pals, was “extremely happy” to learn of the rescue.

Shane the Akita took a proactive approach to being reunited with his human. He swam through the tsunami waters! Shane’s human dad, a tsunami warden, had gone to alert his neighbors of the approaching danger. By the time he ran back home to get Shane, who was free in the yard, the tsunami had hit. Shane’s dad had to seek high ground at the local school. He thought he would never see Shane again. “I thought there was no way he could have survived. It was terribly sad,” his human said. Six hours later, as he found refuge in the school with other survivors, he heard that there was a dog outside. Amazingly, Shane, who had never been to the school before, had found his way to his human by swimming through water full of wreckage. “It was him. He’d swum and found me. He’d ingested a lot of sea water and kept throwing up and I thought I was going to lose him anyway, but he pulled through,” Kamata said. Both of Shane’s elbows were scraped and torn, and it is thought that he had clung to debris to survive the tsunami wave.

In this amazing video, a woman returns to the ruins of her home and discovers that her cat, Non-non, has survived the earthquake and tsunami. Cute little Non-non was hiding upstairs and has a lot to say as she makes her entrance.

Tsubasa the bunny, along with 13 other bunnies, two kitties, and a dog, had to be left behind when their human was evacuated from his home. The human traveled back to his barn every other day to feed and check on all the critters for nearly two whole months. Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support (JEARS), a coalition of animal welfare groups, offered to house all the animals for a while until Tsubasa’s dad could get his life back in order.

Wild creatures needed a helping hand after the tsunami, too, like the young finless porpoise who was stranded in a rice patty in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. Finless porpoises are a type of dolphin, in case you worried that it was injured, like I did, when you read “finless”! The poor little dolphin was thrashing around in the rice field when a rescuer scooped it up in his arms. The dolphin was then released into the ocean in hopes that it would be all right.

New stories of animal rescues and reunions in Japan are appearing each week, each one a little miracle to hold in your heart.

How to help Japan’s pets: http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/03/22/how-to-help-japan-pets/32243/

All photos used with permission of Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support (JEARS).

Tagged as: akita, bunnies, corgi, finless dolphin, jears, pets, tsunami survivors