Seventeen dogs that were rescued after being abandoned in Fukushima following Japan’s 2011 earthquake and nuclear accident had lower trainability and attachment scores than a comparison group of abandoned dogs from Kanagawa, while their urine cortisol levels were five to 10 times higher. The findings came from a 2012 study published in Scientific Reports , which examined the animals during rehabilitation and found that the elevated cortisol levels persisted for as long as 10 weeks. The disaster forced residents within the Fukushima evacuation zone to leave their homes, and many pets were left behind. Researchers from Azabu University later received stray and abandoned dogs from rescue centers in Fukushima and compared them with abandoned dogs from Kanagawa that had not experienced the disaster. The study involved 17 Fukushima dogs and eight Kanagawa dogs, and all were given health care, exercise and time with people before undergoing behavioral assessment.
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