Venezuela Honors Tsunami, the Shelter Dog Turned Rescue Dog, With a Bronze Statue

Tsunami got his name on his first day at home, when he knocked over a large basin of water and flooded the floor. That is how Jorge Beens, his handler, told it to The Christian Science Monitor.

The black-and-white Border Collie, with one blue eye and one brown, was adopted from an animal shelter in Caracas. He became a search and rescue dog with Beens, who directs a disaster response organization.

Forty minutes

On June 24, 2026, two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela. Thousands of people died. Beens and Tsunami were working the rubble of a nearby building within minutes.

“He started finding lives within 40 minutes of the quake,” Beens told the Monitor.

Tsunami helped locate at least 26 survivors after the earthquakes, according to the Monitor and Al Jazeera. Over his career, the Monitor reported, he has helped save more than 350 lives after landslides, building collapses, gas explosions, floods and the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

“Dogs can make a difference when every minute matters,” said Donato Spinelli, co-director of Perros Extremos, which supported the team.

A statue in Maracaibo for Tsunami the rescue dog

In September, the city of Maracaibo unveiled a bronze statue of Tsunami in Vereda del Lago park. The sculpture is the work of Venezuelan artist José Benjamín Figueroa, according to Storyful and CBS Newspath. The Weather Channel reported that Tsunami also received an honor of merit from the mayor’s office, and he was awarded the fire department’s Medal of Valor.

Beens adopted Tsunami nine years ago. “I think it was love at first sight,” he told the Monitor.

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Sources

• The Christian Science Monitor, The black-and-white dog that became the face of hope in post-earthquake Venezuela (July 15, 2026)
• Al Jazeera, Venezuela quakes rescue dog Tsunami honoured with statue (Sept. 20, 2026)
• The Weather Channel, Venezuela city unveils statue honoring hero rescue dog Tsunami (Sept. 22, 2026)
• WKRC Local 12 (Storyful/CBS Newspath), Rescue dog who helped find earthquake survivors honored with bronze statue (Sept. 24, 2026)