Rescue dog Tobaek returns from Turkey a national hero

Social Affairs

Published: 12 Mar. 2023, 17:08 Updated: 12 Mar. 2023, 17:10

Rescue dog Tobaek returns from Turkey a national hero

Tobaek the rescue dog and its handler Kim Cheol-hyun [JUN MIN-KYU]

Six-year-old Tobaek became famous after the world saw a photo of him searching for earthquake survivors in Antakya, Turkey, with a bandaged paw.

Tobaek is a Labrador retriever, one of the four rescue dogs sent to Turkey after a massive earthquake devastated parts of the country and neighboring Syria on Feb. 6.

According to firefighter Kim Cheol-hyun, the handler of the heroic dog who works for the National 119 Headquarters in Daegu, Tobaek has already had interviews with more than ten media outlets and will also appear in a popular variety show.

Tobaek the rescue dog searches for earthquake survivors in Antakya, Turkey on Feb. 10 with a bandaged paw after getting injured the day before during the rescue. [YONHAP]

“I always told my sister and nephew to visit me here, but they never came until Tobaek became so famous,” Kim told the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of this paper.

Kim says he still feels proud imagining his young nephew showing off photos taken with Tobaek to his friends.

The following are edited excerpts from the interview with Kim.

Q. How is Tobaek doing?

A. As you can see, he is in very good condition: healthy, energetic, jumps well and has good concentration. Physically he is fine, but he is going through some mental issues, I guess. He refuses to listen to me these days, just like a kid, as everyone who sees him pats and loves him. Before, he used to immediately lie on his stomach when I told him to do so, but now he just bows his head. I think I will need to train him again after he goes through his itinerary.

Many people responded by saying Tobaek should get special food, having worked so hard in Turkey.

If Tobaek were a pet dog you raised at home, I would have given him boiled chicken as a reward, but as Tobaek is a rescue dog, we feed him only food that has been thoroughly checked. If we suddenly give him something different, he might get diarrhea or become sick. There was one incident that occurred in Turkey over food. Some local residents gave Tobaek snacks like dog food and bread, praising the dog. I told them I was really thankful for how they felt, but that they couldn't feed the dog. However, they still put the food in Tobaek’s mouth while I wasn't looking. We had enough food for the dog, but I think they didn't know that and worried that the dog wasn't eating enough. I saw Tobaek eating it right away. I loudly shouted “No, no!” since I was already a bit sensitive because of the surrounding. This is all because everyone there was nice.

Firefighter Kim Cheol-hyun and rescue dog Tobaek [JUN MIN-KYU]

We would like to hear more about how Tobaek grew up.

Tobaek came to the rescue dog team for training at the age of two. He was in the training team for two years and dispatched to the current team after passing a test. He was then matched with me as a partner. I didn’t really like him at first because he looked slightly unprofessional and didn’t have the right attitude. He also finished off his training with the poorest grade. After about three months, we came to click. Six months later, I had the confidence that I should work with Tobaek and after that, he became the rescue dog that I wanted.

Would that be why? He finished first at the nationwide rescue dog competition in 2020. The next year he was named the “top dog” and also finished second in the same competition the year after. He also participated in the World Championship for Rescue Puppies held in the same year. Our goal was to make it into the cut, but couldn’t, unfortunately, because I was so nervous.

Tobaek was also at the site of the collapse of an apartment building under construction in Gwangju in January last year. He accomplished his mission from the first day through the last day while he was at the site.

There was another rescue mission he was sent to. It was a cold winter morning around 7 a.m. in the countryside of Goesan, North Chungcheong, and an elderly woman went missing. Tobaek started to look for the woman from where she was last seen, which was the only clue that we had.

After about 15 minutes, we arrived at a riverside that was all frozen and Tobaek suddenly stepped back. He discovered a piece of red cloth sticking out of the frozen river and beneath it was the elderly woman, who was already dead. It seemed like the river started to freeze after she drowned. It was heartbreaking not being able to find her while she was alive, but Tobaek at least helped to find her more quickly.

Tobaek and I worked together for the past three years and were sent on 140 cases in Korea and found and returned seven people to their families. We were then sent to Turkey on Feb. 9.

I heard from fellow reporters who were sent to Turkey that the rescue environment was not ideal, and that rescue workers slept in rental cars and could not turn on their heaters because of the unstable supply of fuel.

It was the most exhausting environment in which I and the other rescue team members have worked in 10 years. The journey from the airport to the base camp was a lot more difficult than the rescue itself. We couldn't lie down but had to sit on a bus for about 30 hours. There were no restaurants, we had nothing to eat, and we couldn't start rescue efforts, being stuck on a packed road. That was the most difficult part — anxiously wanting to begin rescue work quickly, even though we were physically tired.

I also feel sorry for all the other rescuers who were on the mission, and especially the handlers of other rescue dogs, as Tobaek became the focus of attention. I would like to say that everyone on the mission did really well, and I hope that they really know that they did well. And everyone sent to Turkey for the rescue says, “We're sorry we couldn't rescue more people than we did.”

What kind of future do you dream of with Tobaek?

I think I will be working with him for two or even three years. I hope he always stays healthy as my initial goal is to make sure that he does not get sick or injured. And my next goal is to go to another world competition if we have the chance. I hope the world sees how good Tobaek is, without making any of the mistakes we made in our last attempt.

Tobaek the rescue dog [JUN MIN-KYU]

After a long interview, Tobaek finally revealed himself to the interviewers.

The dog usually sits quietly in the rescue vehicle while Kim and the rest of the ream pack their equipment. He sits still until Kim gives a command. He can wait many hours.

According to Kim, he always compensates Tobaek after completing a mission. The rescue dog responds to Kim’s requests because he knows that he will receive a reward.

Kim also makes sure to behave in the same manner when confronting Tobaek, by not putting his emotions first.

Tobaek shows off his speed and athleticism after the interview. Kim shouts, “Baek!” as in Tobaek, as the 30-kilogram (66-pound) dog runs and jumps. He swiftly runs through concrete rubble, showing how professional he is. After the last photo shoot for the interview, Kim calls Tobaek again, who now responds only after Kim shouts his name twice or three times.

“You see, this is the negative side effect of Tobaek meeting so many people and receiving so much love,” Kim laughed.

BY KIM KYUNG-ROK, JUN MIN-KYU, WOO SANG-JO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]