Chinese New Year celebrations in the city of Hualien have been dampened by the earthquake that struck on Tuesday night. But a vital part of the search and rescue operation has been the deployment of K-9 teams into many of the buildings that collapsed after the quake. As Tony Cheng reports from Hualien, it is perhaps fitting on the eve of the Year of the Dog, that they've shown how close the link is between man and beast.

On the main road into Hualien, a huge golden statue. A celebration waiting for the Chinese New Year, the Year of the dog. But in this city, recently hit by disaster, the celebration is more than simply symbolic. Just down the road, Tang Tang and Joy are heading into the danger zone with their handlers. These K-9 search and rescue teams are a vital part of the effort to find survivors and bodies in the aftermath of the Hualien earthquake. Both under 2 years old, this is a vital test but both are showing they're up to the task.

LEE CHI YEN, DOG HANDLER TAIWAN ELITE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE ASSOCIATION "Over the last 2 days, we've taken them around this area. We saw, aside from the excitement, they were also focused, they weren't scared."

That test of temperament has been essential in this disaster, with several buildings so badly damaged that human access has been impossible.

TONY CHENG HUALIEN "One of the challenges for the search and rescue teams in this disaster is being to access the building particularly the parts where it's collapsed and this is where the K-9 teams have been very valuable. They managed to get dogs inside the building through the parts where walls have collapsed into the narrow crevices to detect if anyone is still alive."

Earlier in the week another K-9, Iron Hero, helped to locate a survivor on the ground floor of the Marshall hotel. With their highly tuned sense of smell and hearing, dogs are able not only to detect the presence of bodies but with recognizable barks, they can tell their handlers whether the victim is still breathing.

CHAO YEN FEN TAIWAN ELITE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE ASSOCIATION "Their nose is very sensitive. When they find people they can tell whether they're breathing or not they can confirm if they're alive or dead."

This K-9 team is comprised of four dogs. The senior members of the team, Kala and Sunny, seem happy to let the youngsters take the lead. But Kala in particular has had his share of action. He became a celebrity in Taiwan after he was shown exhausted in the aftermath of a gas explosion several years ago and he now has more than fifty thousand followers on his facebook page. The human team, entirely comprised of volunteers, is also well equipped for rescue work. But in this sort of disaster, when time is of the essence, dogs are often the faster than bulky equipment.

CHU XING ZHONG, SECRETARY GENERAL TAIWAN ELITE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE ASSOCIATION "This earthquake has had many aftershocks, and we can only go in when the aftershocks stop, but we only have a very brief opportunity."

When they're not working, Tang Tang and Joy live with their handlers to build the bond between them. And they clearly lift the spirits of the rescue teams who've been working round the clock. On the eve of the Year of the Dog, they've proved once again that they're man's best friend. Tony Cheng, Hualien, Taiwan.