Many dogs have suffered injuries on their mouths or paws by broken glass, steel bars or nails in the debris. Typically, their keepers and they have a couple of hours' nap a day in a tent and then get back to work.

Silver Tiger, one of the seven sniffer dogs from Yunnan province, even caught a cold last Friday after strenuous efforts - his keeper fed him pills and believes he will recover soon.

Then, there is the mental stress. A dog from Zhejiang province started sobbing when searching through a building in the city of Mianzhu.

Rescuers then found two bodies underneath the debris the dog pointed to.

"The dog has been taught to find people alive. He's never seen so many dead and he must be very grief-stricken," the dog's keeper said.

There is no official count how many people have been saved by the dogs but they certainly had a hand to play in most of the miracle rescues.

In the hard-hit city of Dujiangyan, the rescue team from Shandong sent two dogs to a collapsed factory building last Thursday after hearing there might be survivors. In just five minutes, the dogs pointed to four targets in the debris; and after four hours, rescuers dug out one survivor and four bodies.

"Every dog we brought has performed well," said Tang Hu, head of a fire brigade from Qingdao, Shandong province. His dogs have helped find dozens trapped in debris in Dujiangyan, including a pregnant woman and her mother under a collapsed 5-story building.

The dogs have become heroes in the city. Many residents are refusing to clear debris unless a dog has confirmed there is nobody left underneath. Some families have cut the rations of their pet dogs to supply the professionals.

The canine efforts are certainly being recognized and appreciated.

The Ministry of Public Security ordered 100 pairs of special sheaths to be sent to Sichuan to protect the dogs from further injuries.

China Eastern Airlines ignored rules for two dogs from Jiangsu: The rescue team did not carry cages for two dogs which should go into the freight cabin; instead, they traveled the same way passengers do.

The dogs mainly came from three top bases: The Beijing Military Command, the China Seismological Bureau and the fire department in the northeastern city of Shenyang apart from fire departments around the country.

There was in international flavor over the weekend as dogs from Japan, Russia, Singapore and South Korea landed together with their handlers and specialist equipment.

Private organizations, too, are keen to contribute to the rescue mission.

The Hangzhou Fire-fighting Sniffer Dogs Association - arguably the only such private society in the country - sent a German shepherd and a golden retriever just hours after the quake.

(China Daily May 19, 2008)