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Hok Get gets A little dog lost and then found at sea arrived in Honolulu to a red carpet welcome this morning.
hero’s welcome
Media from across the nation
are on hand to greet the brave muttBy Leila Fujimori and Treena Shapiro
lfumimori@starbulletin.com tshapiro@starbulletin.comHok Get, who was known as Forgea, arrived at Pier 24 on the tugboat American Quest at about 9 this morning, one month after the 2-year-old terrier was inadvertently left behind on the crippled oil tanker Insiko 1907 when its crew was rescued south of Hawaii by a passing cruise ship.
The American Quest also brought the Insiko 1907 to the pier. Officials were to go on board this morning to assess the damage and to try and recover the body of crewmember Nian G.I. Huy, who was killed in a fire that knocked out power and communications to the tanker on March 13.
The body is believed to be in the engine room of the ship. Officials also hope to unload about 60,000 gallons of fuel and other petroleum products.
Hok Get posed for pictures on the tug boat and appeared to be frisky and happy in the arms of Kauai Humane Society director Becky Rhoades.
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Upon arrival, Hok Get was examined on the boat by Dr. Isaac Maeda, a veterinarian and the manager of the animal quarantine station at Halawa. A preliminary examination showed Hok Get has worms but seems to be in good shape, Maeda said.Rhoades, also a veterinarian, said the dog probably recuperated a little from its ordeal at sea on the voyage back to Hawaii. She said Hok Get's color and weight look good.
"She's quite the survivor," Rhoades said.
Pakalika Cunningham, a tug boat crewmember said, "at first it (Hok Get) was very scared. It trembled a lot for quite a while and it was the third night before it came out on its own."
"I thought it was in pretty good shape for how long it was alone," he added.
The dog was to be examined again at an animal-care facility and then was to be flown to Kauai where it will be in quarantine for 120 days, as required by state law.
Eve Holt, the president of the Hawaiian Humane Society, said she called the governor's office yesterday to ask that Hok Get's quarantine period be reduced. Holt said the dog would not have been exposed to rabies while on board the Insiko 1907.
But a spokeswoman for the governor said Hok Get will get no pardon from quarantine.
Michael Kuo, a friend of the dog's owner and Insiko captain Chung Chin-po, will care for the dog after she is released from quarantine.
Kuo was at the pier with his wife, Helen, and niece, Tiara Iokepa, holding a colorful sign with "Aloha" on it and with both arms full of plumeria lei.
Kuo said the family was "very happy and very excited."
Michael Kuo said Chung has said he will come to Hawaii to retrieve Hok Get. But Kuo thinks that might not happen.
"The dog gets used to life in Hawaii; she might beg to stay here."
Their niece, Tiara, 8, held a sign that read, "We love Hok Get. Aloha." Tiara said she wants to take care of the dog. Although she does not live with the Kuos, she will be spending lots of time at their home.
News media from around the country gathered at Pier 24 to cover the story of the dog's arrival. People magazine, Inside Edition and NBC sent journalists.
Cable News Network and local television stations covered the arrival live.
Reporter Karl Kuo of the Taiwanese newspaper World Journal said there is a lot of interest in Taiwan and their paper has been following the story daily.
"It's also our front page, too," he said.
Local radio stations also came to cover the event and played "Who Let the Dogs Out."
Also at the pier was a representative from dog-food company Iams.
Lara Strazdin, manager of External Relations, said the company will donate a lifetime supply of food to the dog's new family.
Iams is calling Hok Get "the miracle mutt," and wants her to be well-fed and happy for the rest of her life, according to a media release.
A handful of animal lovers were allowed onto the pier.
Dee Johnstone said she has followed the story from the very first report.
"The night she heard the news of the abandoned dog, she said, "I totally lost it in the car. I went hysterical."
Yoshi Brekup said after she heard about the dog, "I no can sleep good," ever since she heard about the dog. "I love dog. I worry. Broke my heart."
The crew of the tugboat captured Hok Get Friday. The Coast Guard hired the American Quest to intercept the drifting tanker, which was in danger of running aground on Johnstone Atoll and threatening wildlife there.
The Coast Guard estimates the cost of towing the tanker back to Honolulu at about $100,000.
"We were very glad that we were able to prevent what could have been an environmental disaster," said Coast Guard Capt. Gilbert Kanazawa, who is charge of the port of Honolulu.
The Hawaiian Humane Society spent about $50,000 in an unsuccessful attempt to locate Hok Get earlier last month.
The Humane Society of the United States provided initial support, and private individuals have made more than $40,000 in donations earmarked for Hok Get from 31 states; Washington, D.C.; South Africa; Great Britain; Canada; and Brazil, Holt said.
Coast Guard spokesman Chief Petty Officer Tyler Johnson said he has never seen a rescue of a dog stranded alone, although there have been numerous animal rescues along with their owners.
"This is just such a bizarre case," said Johnson.
Until earlier this week, Hok Get was known to the world as Forgea, based on a Mandarin interpretation.
However, in a letter to Hawaii media, Chung explained the dog's name Hok Get is a Taiwanese (or Hokkien language) word meaning "happiness, good fortune, blessing -- all that is good."
Meanwhile, the fate of nine crew members who were rescued from the Insiko 1907 is in the hands of an immigration judge. They remain at the Federal Detention Center, pending a hearing May 22, according to David Gulick, U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service acting district director.
The seamen had been staying in a Waikiki hotel since their rescue but they left the hotel on April 3 before turning themselves in at INS headquarters on Ala Moana Boulevard April 13.