As Turkey reels under the aftermath of the massive earthquake that claimed over 10,000 lives, efforts are still on to rescue people trapped under the mountain of debris.
To aid in this monumental task, many countries have sent search and rescue teams, which include search dogs. While India has sent a four-member search dog team - Julie, Romeo, Honey and Rambo - Mexico too has sent a canine team, which is the current talk of the town.
A plane with 16 dogs on board has taken off from Mexico City on Tuesday. Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard took to Twitter to share the video of the canine team, which included Belgian Malinois, Australian Sheepdogs and Labradors, with the caption, "The heart of our rescue team is currently flying to Turkey."
El corazón de nuestro equipo de rescate volando en estos momentos hacia Turquía : pic.twitter.com/fl82LCdJ13
— Marcelo Ebrard C. (@m_ebrard) February 7, 2023
He also posted videos of members of the Mexican Red Cross and their dogs.
But why are Mexican dogs so special? Mexico boasts highly specialised civilian and military teams that include dogs since the country is very prone to earthquakes, according to BBC. During the 2017 earthquakes, these canines proved their might by saving several lives.
The world came to learn about these Mexican heroes when a picture of a yellow Labrador Retriever, named Frida, went viral. She gained global fame after being seen searching for survivors in Mexico City while wearing protective goggles and boots. The Mexican Navy has credited Frida with rescuing 43 people throughout her service, which lasted from 2010 to 2019. She retired from service in 2019 and died in 2022. So loved was Frida that Mexicans honoured her with a life-size statue outside the Navy’s main office in Mexico City.
Though Frida would be missed in Turkey, Ecko, a Belgian Malinois, will be in Turkey. Ecko was seen at the airport in Mexico City with his navy handler. Besides the Mexican military dog squad, the civilian group Los Topos de Tlatelolco (The Moles of Tlatelolco) have also sent a canine squad to Turkey.
Meanwhile, all four canines in India's dog squad are of Labrador breed and have been specially trained for sniffing and rescuing lives.
Besides India and Mexico, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Libya, Poland, Switzerland, the UK and the United States have also deployed canines.
