Dog Buried in Landslide that Killed 50 Saved by Rescuers

A dog that was buried for over 18 hours was found and dug up after he was heard barking by rescuers. Nicknamed el Afortunado - The Lucky One - he lived through mudslides and chaos caused by torrential rains in Guatemala that have killed nearly 50 people. Afortunado never gave up hope in his subterranean tomb, barking constantly in a bid to attract human attention to his canine plight. He was buried in Joya Grande village, north-western Guatemala, after an avalanche sent the mountainside crashing on to the primitive houses. Jose Guerdola, one of the team members sent to search for survivors, said: "We were looking for people and always, always was this faint sound, like a permanent rapping or tapping. "We assumed it was someone trapped in a cellar who was hitting a pipe. We dug and dug, and we sweated and slaved, and as we got closer we realized it was the barking of a dog. "When we broke through to where he was he jumped into our arms and licked our faces. Unfortunately there was no-one left alive in the rubble with him but we took him to safety." Local vets checked up on Afortunado and, apart from mild shock and dehydration, he is none the worse for his ordeal. He has been placed in the care of a local animal shelter until a family can be found that will take him in.