The incredible hero dogs of Italy's earthquake

A pet dog kept barking for 40 minutes before the earthquake struck Amatrice, Italy last Wednesday.

Lucia Deleri and her husband, who were at home with their five-year-old son in Poggio Castellano, were woken up by the anxious four-month-old Pit Bull, called Mafia.

"She was jumping around, barking and crying, we didn't know why," Deleri told @thelocalitaly.

"We heard other dogs barking in the area but didn’t think it could be for anything like this. We tried to sleep again but she just kept on barking."

Then the 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck at 3.36 am, completely destroying the historic centre of nearby Amatrice, the Lazio town famous for the Amatriciana pasta dish. At least 291 were killed in the quake, which also affected nearby hamlets.

Deleri lost friends in the quake. She has four other children, but all were in Rome at the time. Their home wasn't affected by the first earthquake but was badly damaged by the many subsequent aftershocks, rendering it unsafe to live in for now. "We're living in a tent, but once the repairs are done, we plan to move back in," Deleri said. "We're not afraid to carry on living here."

Rescue dogs

Similar stories of hero dogs have emerged in the aftermath of the quake, not least the ones who have been fervently helping rescue workers search the rubble for their loved ones.

Among the most spectacular was the story about Leo, a Labrador who helped find Giorgia, an eight-year-old girl who was buried under her collapsed home in Pescara del Tronto.

The rescue, which occurred 16 hours after the earthquake hit, was described in a video by two policemen, Matteo and Liborio.

Video: https://twitter.com/poliziadistato/status/769174257045794820

"Yesterday, we were told that under a collapsed two-storey building in Pescara del Tronto, there were two missing girls," Matteo said.

"We went straight there and Leo, as soon as he got going, within less than 40 seconds, gave us a strong signal. With our colleagues from the Reparto Mobile Senigallia and firemen, we dug with our hands for nine hours, and in the end we found the girl alive."

Further details: http://thelocal.it/119480
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