Hero Labrador sniffs out survivor in Taiwan quake wreckage

(left) Li patting Tie Hsiung in the field on Thursday. The four-year-old Labrador emerged a hero after facing his first ever field test in the aftermath of the earthquake in Taiwan and finding a survivor in the rubble after 15 hours. — Photos: AFP

A rookie golden Labrador dog on his first ever mission has won praise for helping Taiwanese search and rescue workers find two people trapped in a severely damaged building following a deadly earthquake.

Four-year-old Tie Hsiung, whose name translates to “Iron Hero”, braved dangerous aftershocks on his first field test to search for survivors after a 6.4-magnitude quake struck the popular eastern tourist city of Hualien on Tuesday, killing 10 people.