A dog named Milo was rescued alive this Monday after being trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira, Venezuela, in the most extreme documented case of animal survival to date since the devastating double earthquake on June 24, 2026.
The rescue was carried out by a binational team composed of the Topos Azteca from Nayarit, Mexico, and the Search and Rescue Unit from El Salvador, with the crucial support of a K9 dog that managed to locate the puppy under tons of rubble.
Milo was found on the fourth floor of the collapsed building, which makes his survival all the more remarkable.
"After 12 days trapped, we rescued Milo, a dog found on the fourth floor of a collapsed building in Venezuela. The team was composed of Topos Azteca and USAR El Salvador. Of course, with participation from Nayarit," wrote rescuer Pablo Vega on his Instagram account, where the video of the rescue gathered more than 36,000 likes.
According to the account @yosoydenayarit, which also shared the images, the rescuers from Nayarit, Ángel and Pablo Vega —brothers— led the team that worked in coordination with the Salvadoran team.
In the video, the excited reaction of the rescuers is heard upon finding the animal alive: "No, no, no, we need to give it water," one of them is heard saying as they immediately offer the animal some liquid.
After the rescue, Milo was taken for evaluation by veterinary doctors, as specified by the same account.
Milo's case surpasses in survival days all previous animal rescues recorded during this tragedy.
The dog Buddy was rescued alive on July 3 after eight days trapped in Caraballeda, and the parrot Panchito survived nine days under the rubble before being rescued by the Miranda State Firefighters. At 12 days, Milo surpasses them all.
These stories of rescued animals have become beacons of hope amidst a disaster of historic proportions.
The two earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 that shook northern Venezuela with only 39 seconds apart were the strongest recorded in the country since 1900, according to the United States Geological Survey.
La Guaira was the most devastated area, with over 250 collapsed buildings. The official Venezuelan toll has reached 3,535 deceased and 16,740 injured, while the UN estimates between 50,000 and 68,000 missing persons, a figure that the Nicolás Maduro government has not officially confirmed.
The Aztec Moles arrived in Venezuela on June 27 with a brigade of around 20 rescuers. This was their third mission in the country, following the Cariaco earthquake in 1997 and the Vargas landslide in 1999.
The young Camila Sofía Medina Rivas, aged 15, and her dog were rescued on June 27 by the USAR team from El Salvador, the same team that is now involved in Milo's rescue.
"Great job by our Nayarita Topos!" celebrated the account @yosoydenayarit by sharing images of the rescued cub alive.
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