Family or not… The reality of “pets and earthquake disaster” that a reporter of this magazine saw in Noto

As he parked his car and walked away in the light rain, he found himself at the entrance to the morning market street. The house on the side of the street had its roof on the ground, with roof tiles scattered about. The paving stones of the nearby sidewalk were rippled. It was already getting dark, and there were no residents walking around.

It was around 3:30 p.m. on January 5 when this reporter arrived near the morning market street in Kawai-cho, Wajima City. It had already been four days since the earthquake occurred on New Year’s Day.

The damaged buildings flanked the street on both sides, and it was possible to get to the middle of the street. However, it was impossible to go beyond the narrowed line of sight of the remaining buildings. It still smelled burnt. In order to get a full view, we detoured in the other direction to check the situation while taking pictures.

After a short walk, we came to a place where the entire area in front of us looked like a burnt field. I could see quite far out into the distance. I had not expected such a large area to have been destroyed by fire. I later learned that the area covered an area of 5,200 square meters.

As I stood there, I met a father and son, an elderly man and a young woman. The young woman was walking around, calling out something to the others. (What are you doing in a burnt-out area that is starting to get dark? ……), so I called out to them.

We are looking for a cat. His name is Chibi.”

The young woman called out the cat’s name, “Chibi-chan. When asked, the young woman answered that the cat was a resident of a building that was supposed to be right in front of where this reporter was standing.

The front door was opened by the earthquake, and the startled little guy went out through it,” she said. My other cat is with me in a pet-friendly room at the shelter, and I came looking for him with some of Chibi’s favorite food. ……

In the young woman’s hand was a snack called “Matatabi Dama,” which was Chibi’s favorite.

There, a young couple came with a group of women wearing waterproof kappa tops and bottoms. The young couple also lived in a nearby house that had burned down, and they were looking for their cat, which they had left at home. It was not only the first father and son we met who were looking for the cat. The women in kappa with them had a white piece of paper on their backs with the words “Pet Rescue” written on it. They were apparently helping people find their pets, looking around and offering advice.

I left them to conduct my interview elsewhere, but as I looked carefully, I noticed small flat plates with pet food on them placed here and there by the side of the road and under the eaves of the houses. It seems that there are more victims than you can imagine who lost their pets in the chaos of the earthquake and left food for such pets.

The next morning, before 7:00 a.m., people were seen coming out of the shelters to walk their dogs. Taking the toilet situation as an example, the water and sewage systems were not functioning at all, and buckets of water and a hiccup were placed in front of the simple toilets. …… Even in such a situation, they did not miss their walks. Then, an elderly woman with a dog consulted with us, saying, “My injured Chihuahua was protected and brought to the shelter…. So I told her about the pet rescue I had met the day before and gave her my contact information.

After that, while I was conducting interviews here and there, I ran into the two women from yesterday’s “Pet Rescue” again. They were Usa-san, the representative of the pet rescue team called “Team Unyan,” and another member of the team. Unfortunately, the little one and the young couple’s cats that had been searched for the day before had not been found yet.

When we asked about the injured Chihuahua that the elderly woman had asked about in the morning, we were told that she had been contacted. Since the owner has not been found, the Usas will take him home for now and try to find a foster home for him, and if no one is found, they will take him back.

We also heard that Usa-san and his team rescued a poodle named Moom in the mountains far from Kawai-cho. We were told that Moom was in a car, so we asked to see him. When we opened the rear hatch of the light van, we found a poodle in a cage sniffing and co oing.

A relative contacted us and we went to rescue Moom, who belonged to her grandmother in her 80’s. We were in Machino-cho, which was an isolated place. It was in an isolated place called Machino-cho, where the Self-Defense Forces were finally able to come in on January 4. On the way to the village, there was a landslide and we could not go there by car. We walked 5 km along a mountain road at night with men who were on their way to confirm our safety, and finally arrived at the village after crossing several landslides.

Moum was alone in the rubble of a collapsed house on the side of the landslide, enduring two and a half days without eating or drinking. I was checking around the house, calling out his name, when he made a ‘cooing’ sound and I knew he was there. I approached the house, removing the debris one by one, but the debris was too packed to move. I consulted with the Self-Defense Forces personnel who were standing by waiting for instructions, and two of them helped me and we were able to get him out.

The owner’s grandmother, who is now evacuated to Hyogo, wants to see her, so we are going to leave her with a relative somewhere and have her taken to her grandmother.”

Usa-san is working here as an animal rescuer, but he is also a picture book author and has also created picture books based on his experiences at the site. Originally, he was involved in delivering pictures of deceased pets to disaster victims, but after the Kumamoto earthquake, he launched “Team Unyan” and has been working as a rescuer.

I have been going to disaster areas since the Great East Japan Earthquake. I have been appealing for the idea of evacuation with pets in the same room. During the Great East Japan Earthquake, many animals died due to problems at evacuation centers. Many people died because they did not evacuate because of their pets.

I am appealing to the people that in order to save all people, if we don’t rescue those same family members together, there is no point in having evacuation centers. I was happy to see that the shelter here accepted pets as well.”

In the past, the issue of pets in times of disaster has been frequently discussed, and this magazine’s reporters must have naturally been exposed to such news. However, to be honest, they have not paid much attention to the issue. However, during my visit to the disaster-stricken areas, I was surprised to see the strength of the feelings of the disaster victims toward the animals they had lived with, and it made me think about it.

Days after returning to Tokyo, we heard a news report that Mumu, who had been rescued by Usa-san and his team, had been safely delivered to her grandmother who had evacuated to Hyogo Prefecture. We contacted Usa again and asked her about what had happened since then.

She said, “I am glad Mumu was able to go to her grandmother’s place. We found a foster home for the Chihuahua we took care of in Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture. We still need to confirm this, but we know who we think is almost the owner. However, the owner is also unable to return as it is, so the foster family will take care of it. We also know of another person who is looking for a cat and has found one.”

Although the cats have not yet been returned to the families this reporter spoke with, we were a little relieved. Usa-san and his team’s activities have undoubtedly saved someone’s “precious thing,” and in turn, saved its owner.

However, “there were some sad moments,” Usa said. She saw a Russian Blue cat lying on the floor in front of a house that had been damaged by the disaster. The cat had a low body temperature and was lying buried in the garbage as if it were part of the scattered trash.

“An elderly man who came out of the house said, ‘That’s our cat. I was surprised when an elderly man came out of his house and said, ‘It’s our cat. Can I take him with me?’ I asked him, ‘Can I take him with me? Of course you can. I don’t have long left, but is that okay with you?’ And then he left.

The cat also heard such an exchange. A few hours after we took care of her, she passed away, but I am sure she knew that she had been abandoned. I wonder if that is why she chose to close her life.

Some survivors continue to search for their “precious things” in the face of natural disasters that they cannot resist, believing that they will find them, while others make the “choice” to give up. This is also a painful reality.

Currently, pet owners in the Wajima disaster area are working together to search for their pets that have disappeared. Ms. Usa will be returning to the area at the end of January and will once again be involved in pet rescue.

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