Search and Rescue Dog Has Saved 13 Lives and Brings Hope to Venezuela
He saved 13 lives in the devastating Venezuela earthquake. But what makes Tsunami’s story even more extraordinary is that this heroic Border Collie was once a starving, abused stray puppy abandoned on the streets.
When the powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela in June 2026, 8-year-old Tsunami worked tirelessly alongside his handler, Jorge Beens, using his incredible sense of smell to help rescue teams locate at least 13 survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
One of his most remarkable rescues came when he repeatedly alerted crews to a single spot beneath the rubble of a collapsed eight-story building. Rescuers called for complete silence before carefully digging through the debris—and thanks to Tsunami’s persistence, they pulled a 60-year-old man out alive after he had been trapped for nearly six hours.
The video below shows Tsunami on that search:
His journey to becoming a national hero almost never happened.
As a puppy, Tsunami was found wandering the streets of Caracas, severely malnourished after enduring abandonment, hunger, and abuse. Everything changed when a woman named Anita Vidal rescued him and gave him a second chance. His intelligence, energy, and drive soon caught the attention of rescue specialist Jorge Beens, who trained him to become a disaster search-and-rescue dog.
Before returning home to help during Venezuela’s darkest hours, Tsunami had already served in international rescue missions following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in 2023, as well as numerous flood and landslide emergencies throughout Venezuela.
After days of nonstop searching through dangerous piles of rubble, Tsunami was exhausted and required veterinary care, hydration, and rest. Thankfully, he recovered well.
Tsunami’s earthquake response in Caracas marks his final mission before retirement, a heroic legacy that the citizens of Venuezuela will long remember.
From an abandoned puppy no one wanted to one of Venezuela’s greatest rescue heroes, Tsunami’s legacy isn’t measured by medals or fame—but by the 13 people who are alive today because he never gave up searching.