2014 photo of US rescue dog misrepresented after Turkey earthquake

CLAIM: A photo shows a white-haired dog covered in dirt who helped rescue at least 10 people in Turkey after an earthquake struck the country on Monday.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The image was taken in 2014 by a Reuters photographer after a deadly mudslide near Oso, Washington. It shows a rescue dog named Tryon who searched for victims after the destruction.

THE FACTS: Following Monday’s earthquake, many countries have sent dogs and rescuers to Turkey to aid rescue efforts. But some social media users have shared old and unrelated images of rescue animals, falsely claiming they show the aftermath of the quake.

The latest misrepresented image shows a dog caked in dirt as he stares directly into the camera. A person sporting a red sleeve and white glove is holding the dog’s leash.

“This dog hero who worked the whole night and saved 10 lives in Turkey,” reads a caption on an Instagram post of the image. The post had received more than 9,500 likes as of Wednesday.

Another Instagram post featuring the image used hashtags such as #turkey, #earthquake and #helpturkey while claiming that the dog had “saved dozens of lives.” As of Wednesday, it had received more than 8,500 likes.

But the photo shows a rescue dog who helped after the 2014 mudslide in Oso, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) outside of Seattle, which killed 43 people. It was taken by Rick Wilking, a freelance photographer for Reuters.

“Tryon the rescue dog waits to go through the decontamination area at the mudslide after searching for victims in Oso, Washington March 30, 2014,” a caption on the photograph states.

An Associated Press caption for a similar image of Tryon, also taken by Wilking, describes the dog as “muddied from the day’s work” as he “stands with his handler near the west side of the mudslide.”

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey, as well as Syria, during the early hours Monday toppled thousands of buildings and killed nearly 12,000 people as of Wednesday, the AP reported. Hundreds of families are believed to remain under the rubble, and the death toll could rise as rescuers search through the wreckage in cities and towns.

Social media users have also shared images of dogs from stock photography websites, falsely claiming they were taken after the earthquake.

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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.