HK team finds dog that helped save woman trapped in rubble

A Hong Kong team has found one of the two dogs that helped an elderly woman survive 196 hours trapped in rubble.

Volunteers from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) came across Qian-jin, a six-month-old mongrel, on a hill next to a Buddhist temple in Pengzhou city . The other dog, a German shepherd named Guai-guai, was found earlier by temple staff.

The animals were reported to have kept alive Wang Youqiong, a 61-year-old Buddhist, by licking her face as she lay stuck between two rocks next to the temple. Their barks led rescuers to her last week.

The mongrel was taken to an animal shelter, but will be reunited with the German shepherd and returned to the temple after it is rebuilt.

Tony Wong Tse-tong, superintendent of a team sent to the earthquake area by the SPCA, said both animals were in good shape.

The seven volunteers arrived in Sichuan at the weekend, and have been training locals in disease control and how to rescue, vaccinate and shelter surviving animals. 'We are heartened by the eager response from the local community in saving animals,' Mr Wong said, adding the team had saved more than 20.