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Life is full of the unexpected.
This is even true to a small pet dog. A dog called Romeo has been pulled from
the rubble (瓦砾) of an earthquake, more than nine days
after he was given up for dead.
On August 24, 2016, a
terrible earthquake happened in Italy. The earthquake made millions of people
lose their houses, killing at least 250 people and hurting more than 360
people.
Romeo's owners were
sleeping on the second floor of their house when the earthquake happened. They
managed to get out. But Romeo, who was sleeping on the first floor, was trapped
inside. They tried their best to search for Romeo, but failed. After a few
hours, they had to leave the village for their own safety.
All hope of finding Romeo
alive seemed to disappear until Friday evening. That night the couple returned
to their home with a group of firemen. Almost as soon as they came into the
village, Romeo heard their voices and began barking (吠叫).
The couple couldn't
believe their ears. The firemen began digging at once where the barking was
coming from and got to the dog. It was lucky that the dog was in pretty good
condition. He looked like he had just woken from a short sleep.
Appearing completely
relaxed, the dog drank his first drops of water in more than 230 hours from a
bottle held by one of the firemen.
As it became clear that he
didn't get hurt, the fireman put him down. When Romeo's owners saw him, they
couldn't help crying. "We thought we had lost him forever!" said one
of Romeo's owners. Then Romeo left happily with his owners who had given up hope
of finding him alive.
The discovery of Romeo
also cheered those firemen. "We believe there must be many more that are
still alive. We'll try our best to save them."
