Tales of tragedy, bravery from Siaolin Village

Villager Li Chin-jung took in his first Labrador retriever, Duo Duo, about six years ago, and adopted his second Labrador, Xiao Hei, about a year ago. The two retrievers horsed playfully around the village everyday, and this is precisely what enabled them to save the lives of over forty villagers when torrential rains covered all roads in the village, rendering the villagers sitting ducks in the midst of Typhoon Morakot's merciless bashing. Duo Duo and Xiao Hei, familiar with the landscape of the village, waded through the waters and led the group of villagers to the relative safety of high ground, before they were rescued by army helicopters and whisked away to safety, cable TV news reported.

Li recounted how the soldier initially refused to allow him to take his canine companions onboard, citing the risk of infectious diseases. However after some persuasion, Li was allowed to wait for the last helicopter escort to bring his dogs along.

“Leaving them there means they were going to die, so I asked to take them along with me,” says Li.

However, tales of tragedy continued to pour of the village, as there is a growing realization that forty-six year old Mr. Weng's pool of tears may not bring back his ten family members, who lived together and were all washed away by Typhoon Morakot's floodwaters just when Mr. Weng left the house momentarily to check on a work hut nearby, TVBS news reported.

“My mother, my two sons, my daughter, my daughter-in-law, and my grandson,” sobbed Mr. Weng, as he waited helplessly for a miracle to happen.

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