All through the night, the country has been holding its breath, waiting in anticipation for a heroic rescue – one that would make history and bring some hope in that miracles are possible for the long-struggling people of Lebanon.
A month after the crumbling of Beirut’s buildings, most rubbles remain piled up chaotically the way the blast caused them to be.
One particular destroyed building in one of Beirut’s most famous districts, Gemmayzeh, has brought the attention of the world overnight.
A sign of life has been detected there under the rubble by an extraordinary dog when no one did, not even the French rescue team with their trained dogs, as reportedly seen by the residents.
That beautiful creature is Flash, “the new hero in town” as she’s being called on social media by the Lebanese people in awe.
Flash, the well-trained rescue dog of the brave Topos Chile team, has brought into that forgotten site the Lebanese civil defense, the Lebanese Army, the Lebanese Red Cross, people of many areas of Beirut, the press, the cranes, and all the world to get hooked on the Live feeds streaming all night.
An unexpected and highly dangerous rescue mission for a potential survivor took off and that’s thanks to Flash.
The 5-year-old Border Collie dog, belonging to the Chilean rescue specialists, has become a hero for the people of Lebanon for the hope she has just revived in them.
Using unique technology, Topos Chile responded to Flash’s discovery and found that there were in fact two bodies buried beneath the building that had collapsed during the blast a month ago.
One of them showed signs of life. It had a faint heartbeat that’s getting weaker by the hour. The possible survivor is presumably a child.
Flash is trained to find human bodies and react differently to whether the person is alive or dead.
That’s how the Topos Chile knew initially that there is one dead person and one alive, which was then confirmed by the specialized detectors, and eliminated the possibility that the victim below the rubble is an animal.
According to the Bark Post blog, Flash’s breed, Border Collie, when “specifically bred for obedience and intelligence, makes an excellent working dog, especially in the field of Search and Rescue.”
We can all agree that Flash is today Lebanon’s national hero.
There’s no doubt that she will be remembered as part of this historical tragic phase of Lebanon for detecting life when no one did for a month and restoring some hope amid the misery in the wake of the explosion.
There is something else Flash brought to the Lebanese people. She has humbled everybody into recognizing that these creatures people tend to disregard as inferior are in fact more capable than humans in many ways; ways needed in service of humans.
Never again would the Lebanese use the term dog as an insult without thinking it twice, for this beautiful creature has proven that her race is more caring, and certainly more serving, than those reigning messily over this country.
