Shipwrecked Animals in Peril . . . Please Help!

[Southern Star]

Tao, 60 isn't old (or at least it had better not be, as I too am fast approaching that temporal milestone). And regardless of the legalities (which support your position), through the act of saving him, the futures of both Snickers and you are now inextricably bound.

Brad

[Celestialsailor]

Hey Tao...Way to go man!!! You are a person that sees the glass 1/2 full not 1/2 empty. Sure the prior owners woulda, shoulda, coulda but you pulled it all together my man. Good on ya.

[TaoJones]

Check out the picture, currently running in The Honolulu Advertiser, of Snickers upon his arrival in Honolulu today in the arms of the ship's captain, Evans Hoyt. Go to honoluluadvertiser.com, then click on "puppy saved" in the top left section of the page. If you read this after another story replaces it, search for "After a 'ruff' life, dog left at sea heads to new Vegas home" in the newspaper's archives.

TaoJones

[Janet H]

Norwegian cruise ship rescues shipwrecked dog - The Cruise Log - USATODAY.com

[UncleBob]

I am delighted to hear about Snickers, but what about Gulliver? Any news?

[PRO-THC]

I am on Oahu and heard about this wonderful story on local tv news channel. I was very happy to hear Snickers had already found a home, but I must confess - a bit jelouse too - because I had hoped to try and adopt this dog locally if nobody had yet! (I am sure me - and - half the island population too)

What a great story! I am very happy to know Snickers is going to such a great home on the mainland. Be sure and post some pics when that cute & cuddly little heart breaker gets home to you TAO & ALOHA from Hawaii!

Todd.

[mangomuffins]

Tao,

On behalf of all pet owners everywhere, I wish to extend my deepest thanks and best wishes for everyone who pulled together and accomplished a miraculous task.

Warmest regards,
mm

[TaoJones]

Thank you for your kind words mm, PRO-THC (hmmmm), Uncle Bob and thank you for relaying the private message, Janet H.

When I got involved in this effort on March 24th, I had no idea what I was getting involved in: The story has grown out of all proportion, with every news outlet on Oahu calling, then the Vegas stations got onto the story today, so they're working it from here. I could have easily deflected all of their inquiries, and would have for the sake of my privacy and the fact that Snickers is going to need some time to regain his health and cope with his new existence, but, as Uncle Bob observed, there's still a vital component to this story that hasn't been resolved.

Gulliver is still on Fanning.

And though he will soon be moved to Christmas Island, it is still very uncertain what the final outcome will be for him. Those of us who've been struggling with this for weeks, now, collectively decided that all of the press attention to Snickers could be used to direct attention to Gulliver's plight.

Snickers has, essentially, become Gulliver's ambassador. And it doesn't hurt that he's the cutest little guy you could ever hope to have as your "spokesman." The Honolulu Advertiser is running an updated version of their original story today, with a gallery of six pictures. The last one is pretty special.

When this all began, I only knew that a macaw and a dog were going to be killed if they weren't rescued ASAP. For all I knew, Snickers could have been a three-legged Pit Bull, with one eye missing, so when he turned out to be an unbelievably cute Cocker Spaniel, well, I was captivated.

He is, as you might imagine, seriously underweight, but yesterday I received a call from Dr. Heather Honda, veterinarian at the Hawaii quarantine facility, and she reported that, after a cursory once-over, he seemed, generally, to be in pretty good shape. Today, she intended to give him a more thorough exam. If everything is OK, he will receive a Certificate of Good Health and can be sent to the mainland soon thereafter.

Hawaiian Air has offered to fly him to LAX and promote it, so my expenditures to date have been minimal - probably less than $100 to the q-facility, and maybe twice that in telephone calls - but because of the kind assistance of NCL and Hawaiian Air, the Hawaiian Humane Society, Peter Forman, and so many others, I will donate what I've saved to the Hawaiian Humane Society as a token of my profound appreciation for their invaluable help.

Rigo Neira, there, is the hero of this story, in my eyes.

TaoJones

[CAAZ]

I received the story (unauthored) below in an email yesterday, and after reading the story of Snickers and Gulliver, found I couldn't resist posting it. Thank you, TaoJack, for giving Snickers more time in this crazy world. I know you will be rewarded in ways some can only dream of. I am hopeful that Gulliver will find his way to his Arizona sanctuary, The Oasis, very, very soon (I believe that is where I read he is destined). Here's the story:

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along the side of the road. It looked like fine marble, and was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.When he was standing before it, the man saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate like pure gold.

He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man. When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?" "This is Heaven, sir." the man answered. "Wow, Heaven? Would you happen to have some water?" the traveler asked. "Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open. Gesturing toward his dog, the traveler asked "Can my friend come in, too?" The man replied ""I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets." The traveler thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree. "Excuse me!" he called to the man, "do you have any water?'" "Of course, there's a pump over there, come on in." the man replied. "How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured towards the dog. "Yes, of course, there's a bowl by the pump." replied the man.

They went through the gate, and there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. With their thirst quenced, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked. "This is Heaven." he answered. "Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "the man down the road said that was Heaven, too." "Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope, that's hell." replied the man. "Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?" asked the traveler. "No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind." replied the man.

[Southern Star]

Jrabbt, I haven't watched the talk-shows but I suspect that you are being a little harsh on the original owners. As I understand it, they lost everything when their boat broke up except their lives, and the lives of their animals. I can only assume that when they abandoned ship, they brought their animals with them.

How any of us would have behaved in similar circumstances (no money, no passports, no possessions) is at best speculation. We do know that extraordinary effort and expense was required by Taojones and others in arranging to 'repatriate' Snickers. Emotionally and financially, that may not have been possible for the original owners at the time.

I have heard nothing to suggest that the animals were malnourished or mistreated prior to the disaster. And while I join you in lauding both the kindness and generosity of those who have strived to save these innocent creatures, I think that suggesting a life sentence (or lifetime ban) for the original owners is a bit extreme. In any event, at the moment I suspect that they too are in need of some human kindness.

Brad

[WingedVictory]

Hello,

As an owner of birds of the same species of bird as Gulliver I would like to know what can be done to help? What is the status of Gulliver at this point, does anyone know for sure?

I also own a avian internet forum and welcome anyone to contact me about Gulliver's fate.

Gary (WingedVictory)

Parrot Chatter

My birds:

Real Birds Photo Gallery by WingedVictory at pbase.com

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Tao,
Mahalo Nui Loa!
Snickers couldn't have a better sponsor.
This story kind of reminded me of the three dogs that lived on the deserted island, Palmyra back in the 70s. Their names were Army, Navy and Palmyra. They existed on eggs, birds and baby sharks and worked together to hunt. I don't know if anyone ever knew how they got there but after each visiting yacht came back with their story of how they were doing I was always interested to hear the news.
JohnL

[Jrabbt]

Brad,
We will just have to agree to disagree. I have spent more than 2 decades rescuing & caring for abandoned, neglected & lost animals, many of whom have been brought on their owners vacation & when someone wasn't paying attention they got lost (both dogs & cats) & this is not the first time that the owners refused to come to get their pet after we found them or refused to pay for them to be safely transported back to them. Owning a pet is a responsibility for their entire life, not until it becomes inconvenient. Clearly, the Merrows could have reached out (especially on their talk show circuit) & asked for help to save their pets & get them back home. Instead, they gave up on them. Fortunately for Snickers & Gulliver, there are many other responsible strangers that stepped up. So, yes I believe that they should not be able to own another animal for animals sake.

[windsaloft]

I read this thread through with tears running down my cheeks. God bless you, TaoJ for your initiative and loving heart. IT has taken all manner of help to make this come to pass, but none would have happened if YOU had not started the action.

We are big supporters of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, and I have all the faith in the world in them being able to complete Gulliver's rescue as well.

[CAAZ]

TaoJones posted a link to a blog about Gulliver's status that is updated regularly and thru which you can offer assistance. Here's the link:

Gulliver’s Island: Dedicated to saving one special bird