Dog rescued from sinking ship faces life as celebrity

HONOLULU -- Bedecked in a red flower lei, the dog whose story of being cast adrift on the high seas captured international headlines made her U.S. debut before the media Thursday.

The brown-and-white terrier mix named Forgea appeared relaxed as she was held by a veterinarian aboard the tugboat that brought her to Honolulu Harbor. The 2-year-old dog had spent 24 days alone on an abandoned fuel tanker.

"This is the perfect happy ending to the story," said Pamela Burns, president of the Hawaiian Humane Society, which spent some $48,000 on a failed rescue attempt.

Dr. Becky Rhoades, a veterinarian and head of the Kauai Humane Society, cradled the dog in her arms at a U.S. Coast Guard news conference. Forgea was then placed in a kennel and taken off the tug.

The little hero is in big demand by the media. Jay Leno wants to fly her to Los Angeles as a guest on his late-night talk show. News crews from across the country also are itching for a chance to sit down with her.

Put in quarantine

But first she's got to cool her paws in quarantine for 120 days. State law requires imported pets to be held before being released to their owners or adopted. Forgea will stay at the Kauai Humane Society, said Eve Holt, Humane Society spokeswoman.

The dog traveled to Hawaii aboard the tug hired by the Coast Guard to tow the derelict tanker Insiko 1907. The tug's crew captured the dog last Friday when it went aboard the tanker to prepare it for towing. Forgea was unintentionally left alone on the crippled tanker on April 2 after the cruise ship Norwegian Star rescued her Taiwanese owner, Chung Chen-po, and 10 crew members.

An engine room fire March 13 killed one crew member and knocked out power and communications on the Indonesian tanker, which serviced fishing boats with fuel and supplies.