Taiwan Quake Survivor Is One Lucky Dog

A dog named Tora survived a week without food and water, trapped in a building that was knocked off its foundations and partially toppled in Taiwan’s lethal earthquake, a newspaper said Tuesday.

Tora, which means “tiger” in Japanese, was saved Monday when he was released from the cage in which he was being held when last week’s earthquake toppled the 16-story apartment building in the central town of Touliu.

To date, the longest surviving humans were two brothers pulled out of a high-rise in Taipei, the capital, after being trapped for more than five days.

The English-language Taipei Times said residents of the wrecked building in Touliu were allowed to go back to their apartments to retrieve valuables abandoned when the earthquake struck Sept. 21. More than 2,000 were killed in the temblor.

A resident, who gave his name only as Yang, rushed back to his apartment and saved his dog, Tora.

Yang reportedly said Tora had been locked in a cage on a balcony.

The first five floors of the structure collapsed, and those above tilted at a dangerous angle.