$50,000 rescue A $50,000 rescue mission failed to turn up a 2-year-old dog left aboard a burned-out fishing vessel after its human crew was rescued.
of dog at sea fails
The dog was left on a burned-out
ship after the crew was rescuedStar-Bulletin staff
The Hawaiian Humane Society launched a massive effort Friday to save the pet of the Insiko 1907's captain, Chung Chin Po. However, after taking a salvage tugboat out several hundred nautical miles southwest of the Big Island and searching more than a thousand square miles of ocean by air and sea, the search team said it believes the ship has sunk.
"We are deeply saddened to report that Forgae, the 2-year-old dog left on board a crippled tanker after its human crew was rescued, has apparently been lost at sea," said a joint statement by Pamela Burns, president of the Hawaiian Humane Society, and Martha Armstrong, president of the Humane Society of the United States.
The body of a sailor killed in the March 13 fire was also left aboard the ship, which had been disabled by the fire. The 11 crew members drifted for 20 days before they were rescued by the crew of the cruise ship Norwegian Star.
The dog was left behind. Po said he was forced to leave the dog, but a Norwegian Star spokesman said they did not find out about the dog until it was too late.
Burns and Armstrong said: "We are confident that what we did was right and what was in our control to assure a positive outcome. We are sincerely grateful to the individuals from Hawaii and across the country who have donated to help the rescue."
Further donations to aid the rescue costs can be made to the Hawaiian Humane Society, 2700 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96826; online at www.hawaiianhumane.org; or to the Humane Society of the United States at www.hsus.org.