on the road/March 14

Tokyo/Monday March 14/ 11 p.m.

Latest report: Isabella and her team of two struck out today moving eastward from Niigata Prefecture toward the Pacific coast of Japan, the area devastated by tsunami.

She is now in Yamagata Prefecture and having to spend the night in her car as all lodging is full.

She reported in from the lobby of a hotel that allowed her to access the Internet and was contacted by cell phone.

She says they are expecting the worst. "We may not be able to find any animals alive, but we are hopeful."

"The roads are packed with Miyagi Prefecture license plates, all people fleeing the quake area."

"There is no place to stay. We are camping in the car. It's cold, but we have some blankets," she said. Isabella has come down with a cold and went in search of medicine but no pharmacy was open and no one was allowed to sell her medicine. She was not put off. "I love the Japanese people. After they apologized to me profusely, explaining that they weren't allowed to sell medicine after-hours, one woman told me she had some cold medicine of her own and gave it to me." 

A friend of ALL animals, Isabella said their first refugee may be, not a dog or cat. "Someone is leaving and we have been asked to take in a parrot!" she reported. They plan to pick up the bird tomorrow and continue onward in search of those in need.

Elizabeth Gallaon-Aoki is an Italian/British citizen and longtime resident of Japan. She is the founder of the NPO Animal Friends Niigata (see English link) http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/

Her work does NOT only involve animals in the Niigata (northwest Japan) area but nationwide.

She is now on the road and heading into the areas worst hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Her mission is to find and rescue as many animals as she can and bring them to safety.

She needs help. Other groups are also helping in the efforts but this blog and chip-in account has been set up specifically to help her activities directly.

We will be updating her progress here. Please stay tuned for reports.

Your help is greatly appreciated.