He spent 40 days in an empty container, without water or food. For 20 days he crossed the Atlantic, from Spain to Panama. It is about the dog Millie, who lives miraculously and now works at the international airport of Panama City, to detect prohibited food.
The dog’s odyssey began in mid-December 2021, when the container she was in left Algeciras, in southern Spain. Twenty days later, the container was being unloaded at the port of Colon, Panama.
As it was thought to be empty, it was placed outside and left to the mercy of the heat and bad weather. Until, twenty days later, workers opened it and discovered the dog, about a year old, starving and dehydrated.
“We don’t know how she managed to get in (the container) and how she was not noticed… This is the story of a heroine. Because an animal locked in a container for 40 days, without water, without food, how can it fight to survive?” said Cecilia de Escobar, head of the animal health directorate at the Ministry of Rural Development.
“The container was corroded in one part and we discovered that there was a small hole at that point. We assumed that she opened a small hole with her foot, from where she was trying to drink rainwater,” she explained.
The dog weighed just 4kg when she was discovered. Afterwards, he was transferred to Panama City and received the care of the veterinarians of the Ministry of Rural Development.
One of them, Ugo Turigiachi, estimates that the dog was in good physical condition before leaving with the container and was able to survive thanks to the reserves her body had, rainwater, droplets created due to the humidity inside it container and in her urine.
“It’s a miracle that this little animal managed to survive, that’s why we named her ‘Milagros’ (‘miracle’ in Spanish), and we call her Milly,” explained the vet, adding that the dog now weighs 12.2kg and he’s doing great.
He works at an airport in Panama
Five months after she was found, Millie is now part of the team of working dogs at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City.
She started offering her services a week ago and is tasked with identifying fresh food in travelers’ luggage, which is not allowed to enter the country as it could spread disease to local communities.
“Milli meets the four characteristics that a dog should have to be integrated into the group: friendly, obedient to people, playful and with a good appetite,” explained her trainer Edgardo Aguirre.
The dog, which moves nimbly among the luggage to detect suspicious smells, has already found a suitcase containing seeds, fruit and cured meats in its first week.
“It’s a scanner that doesn’t cost much,” said veterinarian Turiyachi.
Source: News Beast
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