Brave Mili narrowly escapes crossing the Atlantic and spends 40 days in a shipping container. Now Panama Customs is using ‘heroine’ | Instagram HLN

The dog’s journey began in mid-December 2021 when the container that was on the island left Algeciras in southern Spain. After the 20-day transit, the container was unloaded at the port of Colon, Panama.

The container was considered empty and then stood outside on the sidewalk at the mercy of the natural elements. Even after another twenty days, the workers opened the container and discovered a little dog about a year old – who was starving and completely dehydrated.

“We don’t know how it got into the container or why it took so long to find it. This is a hero’s story,” said Cecilia de Escobar, an animal welfare officer at Panama’s Ministry of Agriculture. “Because an animal that has been stuck in a container for forty days, without water, without food, How can he keep fighting for so long to survive?”

Part of the container corroded and left a small gap. “We assume she was able to drink rainwater through that hole,” Escobar said.

The dog with the caramel-colored coat weighed only 4 kg when it was discovered. Then the animal was taken to Panama City and treated by veterinarians. Hugo Torellazzi is one of them. It is believed that the dog may have been in good physical condition before she left, which allowed her to draw on her body reserves along with rainwater and condensation and possibly also drink her own urine.

“It’s a miracle that she survived this, which is why we called her Milagros (Miracle in Spanish). Her pet’s name is Millie,” the vet said.

Five months after her discovery, Millie is now part of the Dog Brigade at Panama City Airport. It discovers some fresh foods that are not allowed into the country so that some diseases are not transmitted. Her trainer Edgardo Aguirre said: “Millie meets all the requirements to become a member of the battalion of dogs: she is friendly, kind to people, has a good appetite and is playful.” “We immediately saw what Millie had to offer.”

The dog, which now weighs more than 13 kg, is in the best condition. She nimbles between bags and actually tracks seeds, fruits, and meats during her first week as a sniffing dog.

In this way, Mielle is now helping those who rescued her from her dark prison and made her healthy again. “It’s a scanner that doesn’t cost much,” vet Turillazzi said sarcastically, praising the four-legged friend as very reliable. “It is enough to feed Mielle well and surround him with a lot of tenderness.”

And finally: “They say everyone has a purpose in life, and I believe Panama saved Mielle and adopted her to serve our country.”

Watch also: Look, there’s a dog sliding across the mall