|
Tanker dog
gets isle welcome
She will go to Kauai for quarantine
By Ron Staton HONOLULU -- Wearing a red flower lei, the dog whose story of being cast adrift on the high seas has made international headlines, made her U.S. debut before the media Thursday.
Associated PressThe brown-and-white terrier mix named Hok Get, sometimes known as Forgea, appeared relaxed as she was held by a Humane Society veterinarian aboard the tug that brought her to Hawaii.
The dog that spent 24 days alone on an abandoned fuel tanker arrived in Honolulu Harbor via a tug dispatched by the U.S. Coast Guard to tow the disabled vessel.
"This is the perfect happy ending to the story," said Pamela Burns, president of the Hawaiian Humane Society, which spent some $48,000 on a failed attempt to rescue the dog.
Hok Get made her appearance in the arms of Dr. Becky Rhoades, a veterinarian and head of the Kauai Humane Society, at a news conference held by the Coast Guard, before being placed in a kennel and taken off the tug.
The dog's saga at sea grabbed headlines around the world.
Jay Leno wants to fly her to Los Angeles as a guest on his late-night talk show. News crews from across the country also are itching for a chance to sit down with the little hero.
First, though, she's got to cool her paws in quarantine.
Under state law, the dog must be placed in quarantine for 120 days. The law requires imported pets to be held before being released to their owners or adopted.
She will spend the four-month period at the Kauai Humane Society, a satellite quarantine facility on the island of Kauai, said Eve Holt, Humane Society spokeswoman. There she will receive more personal attention than at the state animal quarantine on Oahu, Holt said.
Hok Get traveled to Hawaii aboard the tug hired by the U.S. Coast Guard to tow the derelict tanker Insiko 1907. The tug's crew captured the dog Friday when it went aboard the tanker to prepare it for towing.
Hok Get was unintentionally left alone on the crippled tanker on April 2 after the cruise ship Norwegian Star rescued her Taiwanese owner, Chung Chen-po, and 10 members of his crew.
Chung said in recent letters to Honolulu's two daily newspapers that his dog's name is pronounced "Hokget" in Taiwanese, which means "happiness, good fortune, blessing - all that is good."
Chung's friend, Michael Kuo, of Honolulu, plans to adopt the dog.
An engine room fire aboard the Indonesian tanker on March 13 killed one crew member and knocked out power and communications aboard the ship, which serviced fishing boats with fuel and supplies.
The Hawaiian Humane Society launched a $48,000 rescue effort April 5 that was called off two days later when it was thought the tanker had sunk.
The disabled tanker later was spotted by a fishing boat and then located by the Coast Guard. A plane dropped pizza, granola bars and oranges for the pup.
The white terrier appeared to be in good condition and was eating and drinking following her rescue. The dog had lived on the tanker with the crew since she was a puppy.