Very little good news has come out of Mexico City in the days following the disastrous 7.1 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 200 and injured nearly 2,000 more. But there is one bright spot, and she has four legs, a tail and little goggles to protect her little eyes from debris.
Frida is a rescue dog with the Mexican navy’s Canine Unit, and while her fame may have been a little blown out of proportion in the 24 hours since she achieved viral stardom—she’s rescued around 12 people over the course of her career, not 52, as some outlets have claimed—she’s still doing her best, and I think we can all agree that’s what counts.
Named for the painter Frida Kahlo, Dog Frida has spent the last two days searching for people under the momentous rubble of the city’s dozens of collapsed buildings.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the 7-year-old lab was feeling a bit taxed after emerging from the destroyed Enrique Rebsamen school, where 11 children were located alive by human rescuers:
On Thursday afternoon, she napped in a break room with two Belgian Malinois colleagues, Evil and Echo. Frida’s handler, Israel Arauz Salinas, said she had suffered from exhaustion after searching the school Wednesday. But he said she was back in good spirits Thursday after drinking water with electrolytes and getting some rest.
Salinas said that because of Frida’s age, Evil and Echo, who are a year and a half old, usually go into collapsed buildings first. If they detect a person, Frida follows up to confirm. She usually spends no more than 20 minutes inside.
Frida hasn’t found anyone yet, but her ability to wriggle into spaces inaccessible to humans still makes her a furry hero, particularly since anything that brings a touch of levity to such a nightmarish situation deserves all the praise the internet has to offer.
What has your lazy mutt done today?
Want to donate to victims of the Mexico City earthquake? Consider Topos México, Direct Relief or Fondo Unido México.