Finding Fido: Beirutis search for pets among explosion wreckage

Animal shelters and individuals took to the internet and the streets to find lost animals

Destruction inside a church in the aftermath of the massive explosion. AFP

A man holds a damaged sculpture depicting Mary in his house near the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area. Reuters

A man removes broken glass scattered on the carpet of a mosque damaged in Tuesday's blast in Beirut. Reuters

A woman cleans debris from her damaged apartment a day after an explosion hit the seaport of Beirut. AP Photo

People clean debris at Mohammed Al Amin mosque in the centre of Beirut. AFP

People clean debris at Mohammed Al Amin mosque in the centre of Beirut. AFP

Karim Corbani, 45, poses for a portrait inside his bedroom in Beirut. Getty Images

Workers throw a broken window from a damaged apartment a day after an explosion hit the seaport of Beirut. AP Photo

A helicopter trying to put out the fire a day after the explosion rocked Beirut. EPA

Women clear the damage outside a sideroad kiosk in Beirut. AFP

People help clear rubble and debris from the driveway of a residential building in Beirut. Bloomberg

The damaged Wardieh hospital is pictured in the aftermath of the blast that tore through Lebanon's capital. AFP

A woman sits in front of a building, damaged by the explosion a day earlier. Getty Images

Lebanese inspect the damage in the aftermath of yesterday's blast that tore through Lebanon's capital. AFP

A woman looks out of the collapsed facade of an apartment. Getty Images

A woman looks down from a balcony. Getty Images

A man looks from the balcony of a building. Getty Images

A woman stands inside her damaged home. Reuters

As Beirut took stock of the shattered remains of their homes after Tuesday's explosion, many realised their furry companions were missing.

The blast killed over 100 people, and left shops, homes and charity premises open to the elements.

As the scale of the destruction became clear, one animal charity sprung into action, helping to find lost animals and reunite them with their owners.

CCTV from the inside of Lebanon Animals’ premises showed two cats resting on a sofa when, all of a sudden, a huge pane of glass came barrelling down, shattering on the floor.

"By the time we were able to get to the office … because the cats were panicking … they're climbing around, there's bloody cat footprints all over the place and two of the cats needed some emergency vet care for cuts on their feet," Jason Mier, Executive Director of Animals Lebanon, told The National by phone.

After clearing up the bloody paw prints and sweeping glass into neat piles, the team turned to helping others.

“We were out until the early hours, helping people with their own pets, transportation, emergency vets, looking for lost pets and doing online co-ordination of lost and found pets and people that want to help,” Mr Mier said.

When The National spoke to Mr Mier on Wednesday morning, the charity had received over 50 emails asking for help finding lost pets.

The group’s Instagram and Facebook feeds are brimming with photos of cats and dogs with phone numbers and emails, resulting in some animals being reunited with their owners.

“Luckily there are people being reunited with their pets. Last night I think it was just very difficult because you couldn't even get down the road because there was too much debris in the roads,” Mr Mier described.

“Simply moving from spot to spot was difficult.”

But there are hundreds more still missing, having run away in fright from buildings with doors and windows blown out by the force of the blast which the government now says was caused by a huge store of ammonium nitrate catching alight.

As getting across the city is difficult during the clean-up process, Animals Lebanon has organised small search parties made up of volunteers to look for animals stranded in the chaos.

The searches have already borne fruit. In one video, a man can be seen delightedly being reunited with his brown and white dog, which runs into his arms with much wagging of tail.