Rescued sea dog counts her blessings

The little white dog left stranded on a stricken tanker has finally set its paws on dry land after a gruelling 19 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

Forgea - which in Taiwanese means happiness, good fortune and blessing - arrived in Hawaii to a hero's welcome after being rescued by a tugboat crew.

Wearing a brightly-coloured lei, a traditional welcome garland from the Hawaiian islands, the terrier - now an international celebrity - appeared for the first time surrounded by the crew of the boat that rescued her.

She was shivering but looked healthy.

The two-year-old mongrel was left alone on the Indonesian tanker Insiko when the crew abandoned it in mid-March after a fire killed one crew member and left them without power.

The 11 survivors were picked up on 2 April by a cruise liner. A $50,000 seaair rescue attempt was launched by The Hawaiian Human Society to save the dog but abandoned after the tanker was thought to have sunk. Now Forgea will be transferred to quarantine for 120 days. Her owner, tanker captain Chung Chin Po, is happy for her to be adopted in Honolulu if she cannot be returned to Taiwan.