Although we are usually happy and excited in Westley Piddle, some days can bring bad news. I do not want to cause any more distress but please read this to remember and appreciate how precious our lovely muttwits are.
Unfortunately, there has been a very destructive earthquake on the 30th of October in Izmir, a beautiful city in Turkey. Since then we have been holding our breaths as the rescue teams are saving lives from under the wrecks.
I would like to mention the unspoken, furry heroes of the rescue teams; the muttwits. We have been getting lots of news about the rescue dogs saving most of the lives from the collapsed buildings. It is evident that dogs can smell and hear a lot better than humans thus, they have been working non-stop to find people and furry friends.
They go through tremendous amounts of training to be able to work on the site.
Their training lasts up to 1.000 hours on average, starting from their puppy years. They are able to smell 4 meters down under the wrecks or floors, trace the smells up to 160 kilometres and 4 days past. Although all dogs have amazing scent receptors, German Shepherds are the winners with up to 220 million receptors. The rescue dogs’ presence at an earthquake site is also very important as they can sense a possible collapse minutes before it occurs. Since the search and rescue work is way too stressful, these rescue dogs are retired after the age of 8 or 10. An average search and rescue dog is worth 20 to 30 rescue team members. If a dog in training is found to be ineligible for the search and rescue work, they continue their training to become members of the narcotic division or as guide dogs for people with disabilities or other conditions.
Some dogs running for rescue in Izmir weren’t even rescue dogs, yet, they too became unrequited heroes. And some dogs were miraculously saved from the collapsed buildings.
The never-ending difficult training hours, and the stress of working on the field is a huge price they pay without ever complaining. They deserve so much appreciation, safety, love, fun and delicious food. It is our, the hindlegs’ duty to protect them as much as we can, to cherish each moment with our furry best mates and to encourage and promote animal welfare.
Thank you muttwits, we love you all.
Please share your thoughts, feelings, ideas or any further information. Let’s chat in the comments section!
USUAL MUTTWITS 
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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Great to see the dogs helping out, and other dogs being rescued from the rubble.
I hope your friends and family in Turkey were unaffected mate, though it is sad news to hear about so many deaths of course.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I love that the dogs get retired after too much devastation searching. I find their ability to find people, alive or dead, under rubble to be amazing.
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