Like Beyonce and Cher, Roger only needs one name, especially after his heroics following the Taiwan earthquake. The country suffered a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on April 5, 2024. The damages were devastating. Rescue and recovery efforts are still underway. First responders use several methods to locate survivors amidst the wreckage, including dogs trained to sniff out living people and cadavers. Roger joined the search from his home base in Kaohsiung City, where he works with the Fire Department.
Roger wasn’t always a search and rescue dog. He began his career in training to become a drug-sniffing dog. After flunking out of the doggy drug-sniffing academy for being easy to distract and playful, he shifted to search and rescue. Roger proved his prowess in this area, locating his first body near the epicenter of the Taiwan earthquake within five minutes of arriving on the scene.
This isn’t Roger’s first earthquake response. He has performed rescue duties in seven Taiwan earthquake recovery operations. He is eight years old and transferred to search and rescue when he was one. Taiwan retires search and rescue dogs at nine, so this may have been Roger’s twilight tour. But he has won the hearts of people around the world.
The mayor, Chen Chi-Mai, honored Roger by giving him a toy. Roger deftly proved that he might also be labeled a search and destroy dog. He quickly made a pile of fluff and guts with the new toy.
Following The Taiwan Earthquake, Roger Will Continue Enriching Lives
As Roger finishes his career in search and rescue, he will enter retirement and live with a loving family for the remainder of his natural life. He loves fun, food, and people and will be a great family dog. The mayor has also been sharing news of the rescue efforts on his Facebook page (you’ll need Google translate).
With the hospital staff that saved a nursery full of newborns, Roger has earned his place as a hero after the Taiwan earthquake. Taiwan treats its service animals with dignity and respect, and we know he will enjoy his retirement. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend.
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