An abandoned dog that narrowly escaped being euthanized years ago was an active participant in rescue efforts in Hiroshima, after recent landslides killed more than 50 residents and left many missing. 
 
 Asia & Japan Watch reports that Yumenosuke, a male mixed-blooded dog, was dispatched to the rescue effort from non-profit organization Peace Winds Japan. The organization found Yumenosuke at an animal welfare center when he was just four months old. From Asia & Japan Watch: 
 
 Yumenosuke was supposed to be put down that same day, but his turn did not come since many dogs were scheduled to be destroyed. The puppy was adopted by the NPO. But little Yumenosuke hardly seemed suited to be a rescue dog because of his cautious nature. 
 
 Yumenosuke gradually leaned to follow commands, and spent years training to search for survivors in the mountains. His debut search and rescue effort took place in the Yagi district of Hiroshima's Asa-Minami Ward on August 20. From Asia & Japan Watch: 
 
 Around 1:20 p.m. 4-year-old Yumenosuke stopped near a house, the first floor of which was buried in mud. Unlike many other rescue dogs, which are trained to bark when they find a survivor, Yumenosuke kept gazing at the fallen lumber. 
 
 The dog's handler, Hiroyuki Sano, soon found a man's body in the debris. 
 
 Sano told Asia & Japan Watch, "A dog abandoned by people is now rescuing them. It is a proof that Yumenosuke deserves to live." 
 
 [image credit: Lori Carpenter, Shutterstock] ||||| HIROSHIMA--A stray dog that escaped being euthanized years ago actively participated in rescue efforts here last week after landslides demolished homes, killing scores of residents. 
 
 Yumenosuke, a male mixed-blooded dog trained as a search and rescue dog, first helped out at the disaster-affected Yagi district of the city’s Asa-Minami Ward on Aug. 20. 
 
 Around 1:20 p.m. 4-year-old Yumenosuke stopped near a house, the first floor of which was buried in mud. Unlike many other rescue dogs, which are trained to bark when they find a survivor, Yumenosuke kept gazing at the fallen lumber. 
 
 Hiroyuki Sano, his handler, found a man’s body amid the debris. 
 
 Shortly after 7 p.m., Yumenosuke’s “colleague” Hulk, a 3-year-old golden retriever, started barking at the remains of another home. 
 
 A woman’s body was found at a spot where Hulk eagerly sniffed. 
 
 With their duty being to rescue survivors, the dogs were pulled out of the site for the day. 
 
 Yumenosuke and Hulk were dispatched by the non-profit organization Peace Winds Japan. 
 
 A PWJ staff member found Yumenosuke at the Hiroshima prefectural animal welfare center in Mihara in November 2011, when the dog was only 4 months old. The NPO was visiting the center to “recruit” a search and rescue dog. 
 
 Yumenosuke was supposed to be put down that same day, but his turn did not come since many dogs were scheduled to be destroyed. 
 
 The puppy was adopted by the NPO. But little Yumenosuke hardly seemed suited to be a rescue dog because of his cautious nature. 
 
 At first, he was trained to be accustomed with people and to “wait,” “sit” and follow other basic commands. 
 
 Gradually he learned to follow instructions and accumulated experience of searching for survivors in the mountains. 
 
 For a while he was not good at maintaining curiosity, a quality needed for the task. Also a bit timid, Yumenosuke was one step short of becoming independent. 
 
 On the other hand, Hulk, who performed well in competitions, was ready at any time to act as a search and rescue dog. 
 
 For Sano, Yumenosuke looked confident after completing his debut mission. 
 
 “An dog abandoned by people is now rescuing them,” Sano said. “It is a proof that Yumenosuke deserves to live.”
– In November 2011, a worker from the nonprofit Peace Winds Japan scouting for search and rescue dogs at a Hiroshima animal welfare center came across 4-month-old Yumenosuke. The mixed-breed pup was set to be put down that day, but a backlog meant his number was never called. PWJ took him in and trained him, and the group's efforts paid off recently: He made his first recovery amid the rubble of Japanese landslides that killed dozens in mid-August, reports the Asahi Shimbun, as spotted by Gawker. Yumenosuke wasn't a natural when he first started his rescue-and-recovery schooling: He wasn't assertive or overly curious, both necessary traits for the job, notes the paper. Over time, however, he gained confidence and learned to follow directions as he accrued experience performing mountain searches. When he made his first official find on Aug. 20 in the Yagi section of Hiroshima, Yumenosuke didn't raise a ruckus by barking: He simply fixed his gaze on a pile of lumber and didn't take it off until his handler checked out the pile. Sadly, a man's body was found under the wood, but Yumenosuke had done his job. "A dog abandoned by people is now rescuing them,” his handler tells the paper. “It is proof that Yumenosuke deserves to live.” (In the US, a pit bull is being hailed as a hero.)