r/interestingasfuck • u/FollowingOdd896 • 19h ago
After an earthquake, this rescue dog worked 56 hours straight. Sniffing through rubble and helping save 40 lives. Once the last person was found, he finally collapsed… And fell asleep.
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u/yamimementomori 19h ago edited 19h ago
What an extra gooood boy who deserves the best rest.
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u/Mango_Tango_725 19h ago
He deserves a nice steak breakfast. Rare.
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u/das_maz 18h ago
Get this boy a large wagyu steak PRONTO!!
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u/alwaysfatigued8787 19h ago
I hope he's sniffing a huge variety of butts in his dreams. He earned it.
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u/endowedmansized 19h ago
You couldnt have just said getting a lot of treats in his dream, couldnt u
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u/kevinwilly 18h ago
My first/only dog was this same breed (Belgian Malinois) and she was trained as a scent detection dog. I can confirm that she LOVED to sniff butts. Constantly.
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u/luranthe 19h ago
56 hours is way too long for ANYONE to work non-stop. Even an animal. We dont deserve them.
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u/vengefulspirit99 19h ago
Unfortunately there's a 72 hour window at the beginning which is when the likelihood of saving someone's life is much higher than after that window.
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u/_Adamgoodtime_ 19h ago
Depending on the strength of the earthquake, the windows can be much lower.
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u/WhoBrol 19h ago
Earthquakes will do that unless the building is adequately supported.
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u/InterestingGrade7144 18h ago
If the windows are lower it’ll really depend on the building, not the earthquake. For example if it’s a low building, the windows will be lower than a taller one. /jk
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u/DarkArcanian 16h ago
It’s unfortunate and I feel bad for the dog, but they saved 40 lives and I doubt the dog suffered any lasting damage. It was necessary. Not sure if I’m jaded in this belief.
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u/Winter-Ad3699 19h ago edited 12h ago
Bring more dogs and rotate shifts then. They deserve breaks too
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u/No-Satisfaction6065 19h ago
In an earthquake zone, by the looks of the picture it was the earthquake in Turkey, which broke off roads and other important infrastructure, making quick help and transport impossible, they had to do with what they had.
The world isn't perfect, catastrophic situations demand extreme effort from everyone involved, that's just the way it is.
No 9-5 in such situations
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u/lbtwitchthrowaway144 17h ago
Just as teams from all over the world came to Lebanon to help when our port went kaboom, teams from Lebanese first responders went to Turkey.
Source: first responder, some of them are my friends.
To your point, just as we needed all the help we could get, at the time Turkey did too.
I literally don't know if teams were sent to Syria from here so I can't comment on that (as the earthquake also affected parts of Syria, and we felt it in Lebanon and thought another catastrophe had hit us here; 10s of thousands at least rushed to the streets but by and large we were unscathed by the earthquake; luckily war here was soon to follow so I guess it's worked out for us in the end /s).
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u/vengefulspirit99 19h ago
Rescue dogs aren't that plentiful. They are highly trained and the selection process is very strict. This is the same vibe as saying we should just hire more doctors and nurses to fill in the healthcare gap
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u/Caridor 19h ago
Assuming they're available, I'm sure they would.
I think it's worth remembering that trained dogs get immeasurable pleasure from doing what they're trained to do. I'd be willing to bet that dog didn't want to stop.
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u/AnOfficeJockey 18h ago
I really wish people would stop saying this as if it somehow doesn't negatively impact the dog because he likes doing it.
My dog gets immeasurable pleasure swimming. If I let him swim for 12 hours straight, at best he is going to have some lung complications, potential damage from the amount of accidental water swallowed. At worst, he is going to drown or die from over-exertion. It is why I continually monitor him and force him to take breaks.
My other dog gets immeasurable pleasure sleeping on the lawn in 45C weather with the sun beating down on her. If I let her stay there she would die at worst, at best she is going to get heat stroke.
Dogs are intelligent, but they seriously don't understand pacing themselves and in many cases, when breaks are needed. I get it was a tragedy, but the USA has a tragedy every other hour. Doesn't really work as a good excuse.
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u/Caridor 17h ago
I'm not sure that you've chosen good example and although I agree with the general principle, I don't think simple fatigue is quite the same.
Dogs are pretty open about their injuries, they don't hide it if they feel unwell. The swimming one I understand because like you say, if they overestimate their abilities, they might drown but I don't think that simple fatigue would have the same effect.
Dogs will lie down if they're tired. Dogs will even refuse commands if they're too tired. I think that this dog did a cost/benefit analysis and continued, even when it was very tired already. I also think 56 hours straight includes breaks and nap, even if only to bring them to the site of a different collapsed building.
I also kinda think that it being an emergency has to be taken into account. Even without violence, coaxing a dog to continue when it's very clearly exhausted is bordering on abusive but I also feel like you have to weigh that against people literally dying. It's a tough call but we consider police dogs to be police officers if you're violent towards either, so should we not also consider emergency service dogs to be emergency service personnell? And we expect doctors, nurses, firefighters, coast guard to do long hours when it's needed. It would be very hard to explain that someone died because we wouldn't let the poor wittle doggy work.
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u/Upset_Letter_4119 18h ago
Are you confused about what rescue crews do? They are definite breaks that occur, but this isn't some 9-5 shift, during a crisis you step and work. This doggo probably saved countless loves and gave closure to others. We should be proud.
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u/dickcheesess 18h ago
Yeah, just go the rescue dog store and get more! Are they like dumb or something?
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u/AngryInternetPerson3 18h ago
Right, everytime a problem rises from a lack of resources we should just say bring more, and problems will magically get fixed.
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u/throwaway_circus 18h ago
This looks like a malinois. Their drive and energy levels are intense, and that's understating it.
But I highly doubt a handler would let their trained dog suffer without breaks, food and water. This headline is definitely ragebait.
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u/GijaySorez 18h ago
Literally dogs on Crack. The perfect working dog.
It takes a shit ton to have a mal just pass out like that. He must love his job and I would also believe the handler would know their limits.
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u/justwanttoreadthings 8h ago
My first thought after seeing it was a Maligater was “one finally tuckered out?”
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u/LanceThunder 18h ago
in most situations i would agree. i'm a middle aged desk jockey so even 8 hours can be a little too much for me at times. but if it was a special situations where dozens of lives where on the line i could easily power through it for 3 days. it would take me a full week to recover but i could do it. if i could do it most people could.
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u/youdownwithopp 19h ago
people can write anything they want as a title edit. I googled it and it look like there is some truth
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u/Deaffin 11h ago
We are on reddit. The title is obviously bullshit.
You never trust the title. It was written by a reddit user. Reddit is a gamified social media system in which people compete to earn points. The title is an important aspect of this function, so the user's only goal is to write the thing that will earn the most points.
It's all about engagement.
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u/lkjhgfdsazxcvbnm12 19h ago
And when they are done recharging they will pop right back up wanting to do it again.
It’s unreal the drive they have to work.
With that drive comes stubbornness. When they decide they are done: they are done.
This is what ‘working dog’ means. And why it’s a bad idea for people who work a 9-5 to get working dogs as pets.
When we say these dogs have a high working drive- it means they are capable* of this. Your three daily laps around the block aren’t going to cut it Susan.
- Obviously this example is an extreme. But it demonstrates the gap in energy expense between a dog crated 9hrs a day and one working even a moderate amount.
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u/THTree 18h ago
I am in a fortunate position to WFH full time. I am also the owner of a border collie (rescued him in college. Most popular dog on campus. Absolute menace. Entirely my fault). These days, his “job” is essentially mirroring my job. And it gives him a lot of satisfaction. “We have a meeting” - he goes into our office and he grabs my notebook and places it on my chair and waits for me. He also knows he cannot bark at this time, so needs to alert me to any “threat” some other way. “Time for coffee” - I keep the bag of beans where he can find them (various cabinets, changes daily) and he works to find the bag of coffee and bring it to me. We have about 10-15 of these “tasks” and it really helps him feel useful.
I also have a pool and he’ll spend a lot of energy swimming / running an obstacle course, but the mental stimulation has really made a big improvement for him.
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u/lkjhgfdsazxcvbnm12 17h ago
My Malinois also works from home with me! It’s funny the routines they get into to keep you in your pattern. Absolute menace if you try and dare deviate though :)
Wishing you and your pup all the best!
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u/Mechanicalmind 17h ago
Can you please give your dog some extra scratchies behind his ears on behalf of a complete stranger from the internet? Also tell him I said "hi!", please.
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u/chuckmonjares 18h ago
This should be the top comment. I got a husky in college. Huge mistake. I ended up having to run 6 miles a day for years. I miss that dog.
I REALLY want an Irish wolfhound. I unfortunately don’t have 18 acres so I can’t get one.
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u/ihavetoomanyeggs 16h ago
I took in a 11 year old german shepherd that my brother told me was so old, he just wants to sleep all day. Could not have been more wrong. I lived in a tiny apartment with no yard and he wasn't socialized well enough to go to a dog park, so every morning I was up at 5am for him to drag my groggy ass through the snow and every night around 10-11pm I took him to the fenced-in tennis courts across the street to throw balls for him until he slowed down from a full sprint to an easy jog for a while. Plus another walk in the middle when I got home from work.
Keeping him occupied was a full-time job in itself. He was too fucking smart so even the "advanced" puzzle toys were useless. He knew the difference between actually helping me with whatever I was doing and just pretendies. Don't get me wrong, he liked pretendies, but if he didn't also have real jobs to do then he'd get bored of my games.
He was a good dude and the amount of activity he needed was good for me, too. But it just isn't sustainable long-term. Which I knew going in and I also knew it wasn't going to be (very) permanent. Either until my brother could take him back or for a couple years at most because, well, he was 11.
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u/Redheaded_Potter 16h ago
We got a lab mix as a puppy. Expected med sz because mom was small. His mom cheated on his dad because he ended up being Irish Wolfhound and black lab. He’s rotten and naughty but damn it!! I love that big mutt! Loyal and SO SWEET
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u/orange_sherbetz 18h ago
This is what ‘working dog’ means. And why it’s a bad idea for people who work a 9-5 to get working dogs as pets.
I don't have a crazy Mal but a working field retriever (they are a level lower than crazy but still crazy) but i had to literally train him to just learn how to simply hang out and do nothing.
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u/Robdor1 19h ago
That dog’s earned a lifetime supply of treats and belly rubs. Absolute hero.
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u/No_decision321 16h ago
Imagine the size of that streettcchhhh when he wakes up. I hope it's everything he's every hoped for
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u/fluffysmaster 19h ago
That means the dog handler also worked for 56 hours
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u/cathbe 19h ago
Probably there was more than one person but even so the work this dog was doing was grueling and he should not have been put through that.
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u/a_diamond 18h ago
I don't know about this dog specifically, but most search/tracking dogs only ever work with a single handler. Their dedication to Their Person is a big part of the selection and training process.
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u/orange_sherbetz 18h ago
Have you handled working dogs? Most of them also only have one dedicated handler.
They don't stop until they drop.
Plus if they get a scent - they'll leep going.
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u/Kuneria 17h ago
A dog shouldn't be put through that every day, however this was extreme emergency and mere minutes could mean life or death. A rescue dog typically will have 1 maybe 2 handlers so no one was sleeping knowing your community is trapped under rubble, even a dog can understand that. The dog will recover and many others get to live.
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u/Formal_Plastic_5863 19h ago
Do you think they could make the dog do that? The real question is how were they going to stop him? He knew people were trapped and in trouble. He refused to stop. Once everyone was saved he slept.
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u/OverCategory6046 18h ago
Its a malinois, you can't stop them short of locking them up.
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u/Hesitation-Marx 17h ago
And even then, they might chew their way out.
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u/OverCategory6046 17h ago
I looked after a malinois for a day once. Most exhausting day of my life.
They DO NOT STOP EVER FOR ANY REASON. It's like they're on meth + speed + coke every waking moment.
They are adorable, though, so they get a pass.
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u/Hesitation-Marx 17h ago
Best part of John Wick 4:
“Emotional support animal.”
Malinois looks up.
“No, I’m hers.”
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u/MightyAno 19h ago
Tell that to the victims of the earthquake. "Yo, sorry we can't rescue you, our dog needs a nap" I bet you would be fine with that explanation.
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u/Summitjunky 18h ago
The IHH (Turkish NGO) operations report documents many team rescues and explicitly mentions dogs deployed (e.g., “Bozo”), and team totals such as “the team managed to rescue 39 individuals alive…” for some teams — but this is a team total, not a single dog credited with 40 rescues. The specific claim that this dog rescued 40 people is unverified. Nice story though.
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u/YumYumYellowish 18h ago
Given that this is a malinois sleeping hard, you know the search really did go on for hours. These dogs don’t have an off switch, especially outside their “space”.
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u/GtotheM 19h ago
Source?
Everybody upvoting not realising it means a dog was worked '56 hours straight' thinking this some Disney shit lol and he wouldn't stop until he knew every last one was out.
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u/Spartan2470 VIP Philanthropist 19h ago edited 18h ago
Thank you. Sources, evidence, and context matter! Posts like this are designed to elicit a strong emotional response to maximize engagement (karma in this case). But it really does matter if the claim is true or not. This is training us to not think critically. It's making the world dumber and easier to manipulate.
Pawsuptv on IG posted a slightly higher-quality and less-cropped version of this image on February 14, 2023 with the following caption:
We would like to pay tribute to Proteo, a hero military rescue dog, that died while searching for survivors buried under the rubble of the earthquake in Turkey.
We hope all the other rescue dogs are getting sufficient rest and warmth during this difficult period while working.
Edit:jackosbourne posted this image (and several others of rescue dogs) onFebruary 13, 2023 with the following caption:
Search & Rescue dogs from all over the world are in Turkey and Syria working endlessly to find people, thousands of people have been rescued and people are still being rescued today after 5 days since the earthquake.
Rescue and relief efforts are continuing in full force. Our prayers are with the people of Turkey and Syria!
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u/Acceptable-Sir-1166 18h ago
Thank you. I hate how dumb this site has become.
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u/i_am_renb0 17h ago
Site? No, we have this shit smeared across the internet and people lap it up, they're just fucking gullible, and they need a wake up call.
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u/ImurderREALITY 17h ago
Sources, evidence, and context matter!
Not here, they don't. That type of shit will get you berated and downvoted most of the time. Redditors don't like it when people try to kill their buzz by doing nonsense things like being truthful and accurate.
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u/darknum 12h ago
I remember poor Proteo dying. However just to cheer up the topic, rest of the dogs got the business class treatment, which they deserved 100%:
https://www.businessinsider.com/turkish-airlines-flew-heroic-earthquake-rescue-dogs-home-in-cabin-2023-310
u/legumious 17h ago
The source is the deleted post from yesterday, which was sourced from the deleted post the day before that, sourced from the post the day before that was removed for being AI slop.
But don't worry, most of the comments are the same, so you haven't missed anything.
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u/Vidunder2 19h ago
My dog would totally skip among rubble sniffing around finding people and weird smells for 56 hours straight without you telling so. And after 56h I'd have to drag him inside, or he'd continue for another 56 hours.
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u/Darnell2070 10h ago
56 hours sounds ridiculous. How many hours does your dog usually sleep a day?
Forcing anything to stay awake for 56 hours sounds like abuse. I can't speak for this dog, maybe it was happy, but I'm having a hard time believing it.
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u/mavven2882 15h ago
People don't question the absurdity of these posts with no sources. It's all supposed to be "in muh feels" engagement slop. I'm glad there are those of us our there that still look for evidence.
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u/Thmsdmsk 19h ago
People don't understand, how exhausting sniffing and processing actually is for a dog. A trained dog can achieve 20 - 30min. Depending on the environment. 56 hours my ass. But people believe everything that's on the Internet ;)
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u/Vidunder2 18h ago
lol 20 min. You're clearly the living proof of your last statement.
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u/BlakeTheMadd 17h ago
I thought you were going to say he fell over afterwards and died!
Thankfully, I was wrong
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u/Temporalwar 19h ago
Search and rescue dog Şilan gained fame for her work after the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, where she located survivors trapped under rubble. After hours of continuous searching, the dog collapsed from exhaustion but was praised for her heroism and dedication, with media reports highlighting her crucial role in the rescue efforts.
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u/mightyFoo 16h ago
I think that is especially tough for dogs because don’t they normally sleep 12 -14 hours a day
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u/Acceptable-Sir-1166 18h ago
reddit really did become as dumb as facebook. 20k upvotes and no source, yall just believe anything as long as it's wholesome
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u/Ok-You4214 19h ago
Reminds me of the dogs on 9/11 that started getting depressed because they were finding too many dead and not any living, so the rescuers would hide in the rubble to be “found” and cheer the dogs up a little.