Buried for 29 days, Beyli the poodle reunited with grieving family
Key Takeaways
Beyli survived 29 days trapped beneath earthquake rubble.
The poodle reunited with a family grieving the loss of loved ones.
Veterinarians say Beyli is recovering despite eye injuries and severe weight loss.
The two-year-old dog survived nearly a month beneath earthquake rubble before reuniting with his owners, who had believed he would never be found alive.
A two-year-old poodle that survived 29 days beneath the rubble left by Venezuela's devastating earthquakes is recovering after an emotional reunion with the family that had given up hope of finding him alive.
Footage recorded on Thursday showed Beyli with his owners, 11-year-old Victoria and her father, Jairo, in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state.
Victoria survived the earthquakes but lost her mother and grandmother. Although Beyli's eyesight had been affected by his injuries and he could not recognise her at first, he reacted when he heard her voice.
Jairo said the family was not present when rescuers found the dog on July 23.
"It was on the 23rd [of July] that they found Beyli, but we were not there at that moment. We were at my mother's house. And I tell my daughter, I felt something, I tell my daughter: come on, get in, we're going there to see how the rescue is going, how they are removing the material," he said.
The rescue came as a complete surprise to the family.
"We never imagined it was the dog because we had no hope of finding him alive after so much time. The last thing on our minds was finding the dog alive," Jairo admitted.
Since his rescue, Beyli has been receiving treatment from local veterinarians.
Veterinarian Mirna Calderon said the dog arrived frightened and severely underweight after spending weeks trapped beneath the rubble.
"When I received Beyli, he was very frightened. As we say, there are many losses. He had a fairly considerable weight loss. You can still see that he has quite a lot of weight loss, and he will recover it little by little," she said.
Calderon said Beyli suffered corneal ulcers in both eyes because of the rubble but remained active throughout his recovery.
"However, despite everything, he remained active, alert, in very good spirits, and with a great appetite," she added.
"There is no explanation for how Beyli could have been in the condition he was in," Calderon said.
The earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, caused the collapse of 190 buildings in Venezuela and left more than 5,500 people dead and 16,700 others injured, according to the latest figures released by the Venezuelan government.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
