Tsunami Dog Found After 3 Weeks At Sea Near Japan (VIDEO)

In the tragic aftermath of Japan's disaster, this heart-warming story surfaces.

A full 3 weeks after a devasting earthquake and resulting tsunami hit Japan, coast guards spotted a dog on a floating roof a little over a mile and a half out to sea. The canine had been washed out to sea, floating on the island of debris off the coast of Kesennuma in northern Japan, according to the Telegraph.

How exactly the dog survived is unknown. It also was missing any sort of collar.

The find was a bright spot for the rescuers, who have been a part of a 3 day rescue mission with U.S. workers to find the 18,000 people still missing, wrote the Telegraph.

The coast guard hopes the dog will lead them to its owner, according to MSNBC.

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Comments

[KickstandCat]

09:16 AM on 04/08/2011

Sure beats that story of the little white dog "Snowball" wrenched from a little boys arms and left in the street, during the evacuation in New Orleans. Wish we were as kind as the Japanese.

[vtracy95]

10:51 AM on 04/13/2011

I remember that...the little boy vomited right after that....The japanese had no fighting....no looting....no shooting...no panic....their society is better then ours .....we are a nation of mean bullies and religious freaks.......

[KickstandCat]

11:49 PM on 04/13/2011

Yes we are.

[roninroshi]

05:24 PM on 04/04/2011

A computer generated animation of the tsunami from NOAA... http://www.youtube.com/user/NOAAPMEL?feature=mhum#p/c/3/PBZGH3yieLc

[Mark Jc]

03:46 PM on 04/04/2011

We often forget about animals in times of tragedies like this. So happy the dog was rescued

[abbyowner]

01:02 PM on 04/04/2011

And the best news... they've found her owner! Her name (the dog's) is Ban.

[maidenofdforest]

11:55 AM on 04/04/2011

Wonderful rescue!

[gthang91582]

11:43 AM on 04/04/2011

I'm sure some people might think this was a massive waste of resources. But you can't undervalue the power of a heartwarming story like this to help people in a disaster who are surrounded by terrible news every day. Well done.

[Polly27]

12:21 PM on 04/05/2011

It's these heartwarming stories that help get me through the every day terrible news. Cheers and best wishes to the rescuer.

[Ojodelgato]

11:14 AM on 04/04/2011

Good pup!

[Aldyth]

10:14 AM on 04/04/2011

No idea how this dog could have survived, but I hope it will go on to live a long and happy life with a new family.

[madisonhack]

08:16 AM on 04/04/2011

Our domesticated wolves. The attraction to dogs is based on our own ancestry's connection to our wilder side.

[dhhh]

12:49 AM on 04/04/2011

Some arguments for the Consciousness and goodness of dogs. They live in the now. They are totally devoted and are always just there with their owners...

[lacasarosada]

11:57 PM on 04/03/2011

I'm a sucker for dog stories, glad this one turned out well. I hope this dog finds a home! If no one adopts this dog, i hope the Today Show contacts me. I'd love to this dog a happy home

[Rachael Crawley]

11:23 PM on 04/03/2011

Good dog!

[dhinds]

09:42 PM on 04/03/2011

The dog was alive an well after 3 weeks at sea and the owner was no-where to be found. Did man's best friend eat his master?

[European1919]

01:15 AM on 04/04/2011

And did it have a desalination plant - drinking salt water kills any mammal, not just humans.

[madisonhack]

08:17 AM on 04/04/2011

Mysteries abound...

[Red45]

08:41 PM on 04/04/2011

OK, now that I think about it, how did anyone know the dog "floated" around for 3 weeks? How is that even possible? Maybe they found him floating and assumed he'd been doing it for the 3 weeks he was missing. Curious, eh.

[No stinking fans]

10:39 PM on 04/06/2011

No matter how long he was out there i am glad he was rescued.

[Siren Song]

09:41 PM on 04/03/2011

Wonderful news! May this miraculous survivor dog spent the rest of his or her days knowing only great happiness.

[floydcash]

08:55 PM on 04/03/2011

I hate to sound cynical because I love dogs, but is there any new video of the dog alive? Saved him a few hours later? You think they would have video of the dog ashore running around or hooked to an iv or something. I hope they aren't trying to manufacture a tragic story that almost was great. Call me Debbie Downer.

[floydcash]

08:57 PM on 04/03/2011

Never mind, upon further research I've seen video of the little guy alive. Great story. Sorry for the skepticism, but the video was edited strangely.

[Pixie12]

12:13 PM on 04/04/2011

Oh no, I'm a animal rescuer myself and I thought the same thing you did. Where's this video. I want to see it?!

[JamesBondQuixote]

11:40 PM on 04/03/2011

I understand your anxiety. You're no downer, just hopeful in a guarded way. I know how you feel...I remember the news and video about the 2 tsunami dogs. One was injured, and his loyal friend stood guard over him. The initial news was that they were rescued, so I (and a whole lot of other folks) were so relieved and happy. Then next thing I read was there was no evidence they were rescued at all, but that only some greedy scam artist was pretending to have saved the dogs and was asking for donations via Facebook. Now that was devastating. It was pain in my heart all over again.