Tagulandang: Indonesian volunteers return from a dangerous rescue mission on a remote island where a volcano recently erupted, burning an abandoned, emaciated dog.
Mount Ruang, in Indonesia’s northernmost province, has erupted more than half the time since April 16, spewing a spectacular mix of ash, lava and lightning that has wiped out islanders and forced thousands to flee.
But as the locals fled, a group of volunteers took a boat to Ruang to rescue pets left at the foot of the mountain, which remained vigilant.
“We know they (animals) are still alive there. How can they die knowing they are alive?” Volunteer Laurent Tan, 31, told AFP on Saturday.
Laurent, who owns two animal shelters in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, was one of eight volunteers who took the six-hour ferry ride to Ruang’s neighboring Tagulandang island several times after the shooting.
In one of their missions to our dust-covered island home, they took an unnamed doll, a white cat, and a turquoise-and-white tropical bird.
The dog, with burns on its face and body, was taken to a makeshift shelter in Tagulandang, where veterinarians treated it on a wooden table while volunteers held cell phone flashlights.
He took shelter in a big hole and seemed to have survived the shooting. Laurent said that the village above ground was destroyed.
The group, made up of animal welfare volunteers, was issued for a second time on Friday after several homeowners took to social media to evacuate their pets, and has since rescued “many” animals.
Some owners learn that their pets are alive after seeing pictures of Space Island in the media.
