group, which has rescued 140 animals and treated 60 more, plans to continue reuniting owners with missing pets until their assistance is no longer needed.

Alves turned to Hospital McDonald's when she was desperately searching for her beloved dog.

Alves was at a family member's house when the quakes shook northern Venezuela. Hours later, she jumped on her motorcycle and frantically rushed to her home to save Buddy, but all she found were ruins.

The 36-year-old Venezuelan said she heard the McDonald's had become a place to look for lost pets and began making daily laps. She would swing by the restaurant to check if the volunteers had found any white dogs before returning home to yell,  Buddy, Buddy,  hoping to hear a bark. For more than a week, she was met with silence.

 We're all living one day at a time,  she said Thursday.  Today, I returned, and I truly can tell you I had lost all hope. 

She persisted, though, and picked through the ruins, pulling clothes from her mother's room, the only area of the home still accessible. Then she heard a distant bark, looked down and saw Buddy's white ear through a crack in the concrete.

Alves screamed for help, and nearby rescuers ran to her. They broke a hole in the wall and pulled the dust-covered dog from the debris. Alves sobbed as she cradled Buddy, swaddled in a pink blanket and licking her arm. Hours later, veterinarians at Hospital McDonald's checked Buddy for injuries after eight days trapped in the rubble.

 Right now, with all the tragedy of the earthquake, it's one positive thing in all the bad,  Alves said, still embracing her dog.  He's like my doggie Band-Aid. 

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Janetsky reported from Mexico City.