Sacha returns to her owner's arms after the June 24 earthquakes. Photo: EFE.
Agents from the National Anti-Drug Command found the dog in Tanaguarena and took Sacha into custody, hoping her owners could find her. Thankfully, they did.
On Thursday, June 27, three days after the two earthquakes struck Venezuela, agents from the National Anti-Drug Command (CNA) rescued a dog trapped in the rubble of the Sayemar building, located in Tanaguarena, Caraballeda parish, La Guaira state.
The soldiers from the aforementioned group, attached to the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB), were in La Guaira assisting with the removal of debris left after the earthquakes, and while removing bodies, the officers heard a dog barking.
Upon rescuing the dog, they realized it was a poodle, still wearing her collar with a tag bearing her name: Sacha.
“The dog was taken to the headquarters of the National Anti-Drug Command in the Las Acacias sector of Caracas for safekeeping, after receiving the necessary medical attention,” commented one of the agents involved in the operation.
The officers who participated in Sacha’s rescue were staffing a triage station set up by the National Anti-Drug Command in Plaza Las Palmeras in Tanaguarena (La Guaira), under the direction of the CNA chief, General Rafael José Hernández Aguirre, as shown on the National Guard’s elite group’s Instagram account.
Almost a month after the incident, her owner, who also survived the disaster, was able to travel and retrieve her beloved pet. The dog barely had a whiff of her when she recognized her owner, who hugged her and, with tears in her eyes, thanked the Anti-Drug Command for rescuing and caring for her pet.
In the emotional video, Hernández Aguirre recounted the experience to the woman and showed her the rescue video, portraying “an emotional reunion that shows us that unconditional love knows no barriers and that hope always brings us the joy of being together again,” as stated in the message posted on their social media.
(Últimas Noticias) by Odry Farnetano
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/CB/SL
Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
