Turkish Airlines Give Special Flights to Search-and-Rescue Dogs for Earthquake Response Efforts

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria last February 6, 2023, resulted in thousands of unfortunate losses and changed countless lives forever. Many brave souls took it upon themselves to respond to this catastrophe, and among these heroes were specially trained search-and-rescue dogs from around the world. As a “thank you” for their service, Turkish Airlines recently flew these good pups and their handlers home for free.

Turkish Airlines told Insider that the dogs and their handlers flew home on special flights, with some pooches even getting to fly business class. The airline wanted to reward the dogs for their hard work in attempting to locate the earthquake victims, so instead of putting the dogs in cargo, the airline gave them VIP treatment in passenger cabins.

After the earthquake hit, countries such as Croatia, Greece, Germany, Poland, Libya, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the US, and the UK sent their search-and-rescue canines to Turkey to aid in emergency response efforts. Turkish Airlines said it also flew dogs from nations such as China, Hungary, Thailand, and Kyrgyzstan.

Mexico, which has a team of dogs famous for locating survivors of the 2017 Puebla earthquake, took part in the search-and-rescue effort as well.

It is estimated that 50,000 people perished in the quake while over 100,000 sustained injuries, with some survivors still trying to recover from being trapped under the rubble for days. Both dogs and their human handlers have continued to work hard to save lives and put aggrieved citizens back on track toward their recovery.

Preparing Your Pup for Unprecedented Days

Dangerous situations can come and change your life at any minute, so it’s best to always stay prepared for the worst. If you keep pets, you need to make sure that they’re just as ready as you are when these situations hit. For this reason, you may want to invest in obedience training early on to make it easier for you and your pet to manage stressful situations, including earthquakes.

Even when there’s no immediate danger, it would still help if your dog can be easily handled, preferably using extra helpful essentials such as a custom dog harness and matching custom dog collars that can make identification easier and keep your dog comfy. All in all, these proactive efforts are necessary if you want to have some peace of mind and make a big difference in your fur baby’s life before and after a critical situation.