DOG RESCUED FROM ABANDONED TANKER

But the 2-year-old mixed-breed terrier's fate turned for the better when the 40-pound dog was spotted running around the deck of the elusive vessel.

Coast Guard crews dropped pizza, granola bars and oranges for Forgea from their plane and a day later Forgea was saved -- capping a trying 19 days for a dog who was given little chance of surviving.

"It is nothing short of a miracle that Forgea was discovered and found alive," said Martha Armstrong, vice president of the U.S. Humane Society.

The Humane Society launched a $50,000 effort to save the dog after the Taiwanese captain and Chinese crew of the disabled Insiko 1907 were rescued by a cruise liner south of Hawaii. The Indonesian tanker had been without power or communications since a fire that left one crewman dead.

The dog was left behind, and the tanker could not be found after the Humane Society launched its rescue effort. At one point the group thought the ship had sunk with the dog on board. There was only one unconfirmed sighting until the C130 found the Insiko 250 miles east of Johnston Island.

The Coast Guard plane that spotted Forgea was about 30 minutes from returning to Hawaii when radar technician Sean Burke said he had one more contact to check. It was about 50 miles outside the search area and appeared to be a vessel dead in the water.

Using a video camera with a telephoto lens, Lt. Chris Shivery said he thought he saw the dog. But he wasn't sure until he and other crew members rewound the video and spotted her scampering about on the bridge.

The crew rigged a container filled with the pizza, granola bars and oranges so it would break open when it hit the deck. The drop was made from an altitude of 150 feet while the plane was going about 150 mph.

"We saw it break open, saw the food fly out on the deck,'' said the plane's pilot, Lt. Ben Boyer. After the spotting, Lt. J. G. Mia Dutcher said the Coast Guard reported the tanker's position to American Marine Corporation, the salvage company hired to find the ship and rescue the dog.