The beautiful brindle dog pictured above spends each day since the disaster in Japan, staring anxiously at the door outside a Japanese evacuation center. He waits for his owner to come out into the freezing weather to comfort him. Dogs aren't allowed inside evacuation centers so his owner tethered him to a post and gave the young dog a small kennel and blanket to keep him warm. But the dog insists on waiting in the open air in hopes of catching a glimpse of his beloved human.

This is just one of the daily tragedies witnessed by Kinship Circle, a nonprofit organization that specializes in animal advocacy and disaster rescue. The group was the first U.S. animal welfare organization to be on the ground after the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Outside every evacuation center pets can be found chained to buildings or locked inside cars.

Kinship Circle rescue workers offered to take the man's dog to an animal rescue shelter in another town that would provide a warm, safe place to stay. The man broke down and sobbed. He had lost everything and his dog was all he had left. Parting with him was too much for the man to bear. The volunteers left the dog behind and gave the man plenty of food to keep his pal alive.

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Japan pet survivors