Facility for disaster victims' pets struggles with limited supplies and manpower (JAPAN)

[AsahinaKimi]

A volunteer veterinarian, right, holds a dog at Pad and Tail in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, on May 5. (Mainichi)

KESENNUMA, Miyagi -- A little past 4 a.m, just as the sky is beginning to lighten, a chorus of dog barks begins at "Pad and Tail," a dog training center in this disaster-hit city.

Since the day of the earthquake, Pad and Tail has been taking on victims' pets free of charge, and there are around 30 animals being taken care of there at any given time.

"Many of the dogs are anxious, having been separated from their owners," says Pad and Tail representative Yumi Saito, 53.

The dogs are taken out from their cages one-by-one for their food and morning walk. While walking each dog around the area for about 10 minutes, people at the center check the dogs' droppings to gauge their health. Removed from their normal living environments, many of the dogs get diarrhea, so the center tries to make dry food easier on the dogs' stomachs by softening it with water beforehand. By the time the cages of the 30 animals are done being cleaned, it is 9 a.m. The dogs have settled down, giving workers a breather until the walks and feeding in the evening.

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http://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/news/20110520p2a00m0na017000c.html

[aquart]

1. Rescuers have been working non-stop since the tsunami.

And I've always found that rescuing animals somehow rescues people, too.

[Norrin Radd]

2. kr