Taiwan's Hualien County Fire Department has pushed back against claims that a search-and-rescue dog was abused, releasing veterinary records and photos to show the death was an accident.

• The dog, Wilson, fell from a height during training in May last year and died; the case blew up online recently over suspicions of abuse.
• The fire department released a vet-issued death certificate listing accidental death, plus photos of the remains showing no broken skull or leg bones.
• Fire chief Wu Chao-yuan said the handler keeps eight dogs at home and would not mistreat an animal, but was moved to another unit after the incident and is now getting psychiatric treatment.
• Training rules were changed — high-altitude exercises were cancelled and the dog quarters moved from the third floor to the ground floor.
• A DPP councillor argues search dogs are state property trained with public money and deserve a proper investigation process like firefighters get, not just an animal-protection review.

Outlook: Pressure is building for Taiwan to write formal rules covering how the deaths of working search dogs are investigated.