Courtesy photo.
CAMARILLO — After dedicating the last five years of his life to rescuing animals in Japan, Nyander Guard Animal Rescue founder, Akira Honda (Taicho) comes to Ventura County to share his story Sept. 17-20 at the Ventura County Animal Services, Camarillo Airport, 600 Aviation Dr., Camarillo. The community is invited to meet Taicho, see the photo display and listen to what is happening there and how the animal shelters are doing. There will be a photo display and an opportunity to donate.
Nyander Guard is a no-kill animal rescue shelter that was formed to save animals abandoned after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011. Taicho immediately raced to the disaster area from his hometown six hours away to help, and realized the need for an animal shelter near the radiation-contaminated exclusion zone. One month after the disaster he established the Nyander Guard 25 miles from the failed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Now, five years later in 2016, a total of 740 dogs and cats have been rescued. The shelter reunites pets with their owners, fosters those who cannot return home and holds adoption events to find new families. It currently houses 130 animals.
Maintaining sanitary living conditions and providing more efficient care for the animals is the primary objective at Nyander Guard. The cats are allowed to roam freely in the cat rooms to enable them to live in a stress-free environment, which is Taicho’s policy. The bigger dogs have spacious outdoor kennels, while the smaller dogs are kept indoors due to the harsh seasonal weather. They are walked twice a day and are sometimes taken on “field trips” to bigger parks farther away.
Although five years have passed since the disaster, the shelter still rescues and feeds abandoned animals in the restricted areas. Only residents are allowed to enter the exclusion zones that are still high in radiation. Rescuers at Nyander Guard are given permission to enter these areas upon requests from the pet owners. Feeding runs are carried out two or three times a month. These family animals play a critical role in the recovery of victims of the triple disaster, many of whom lost everything.
In addition to Nyander Guard, Taicho has recently acquired another shelter which also aided in rescuing the Fukushima animals. The previous owner could no longer maintain the shelter, leaving Taicho to take over the responsibilities. Caring for the 200+ animals at “Animal Guard” has tripled the work for the staff, but Taicho could not sit back and look the other way.
Not only will Nyander Guard continue their rescue efforts, but Taicho is also working to make Japan a no-kill nation and possibly establish a national animal protection organization in the future.
For more information, call the Ventura County Animal Services at (805) 388-4341.