You may already have noticed that the LL forums have moved, very soon the rest of the content will follow and all requests for this site will be redirected to our new home…
Despite the lack of updates here recently, the rescue community is very much alive and so much help is still needed for the 140 dogs remaining at the Daejeon shelter which is set to close February 28th, 2008. Volunteer trips on weekends will be continuing until then.
Many adoptable cats and dogs are listed in the new Adoptable Animal Forums, please visit and spread the word that there are so many cute faces still waiting for homes.
Some Good News!
Sorry for the long delay. It looks like the letters and phone calls which Tim Vasudeva and Macquarie Bank worked so hard to organize may have secured some form of extension for the Daejeon shelter- there’s been verbal confirmation from Daejeon Council, but we’re still awaiting written confirmation. Unfortunately, it is possible the extension may only be 3 months as opposed to the 6 months that had been requested. We will know more about this very soon.
So, to answer some of the questions that have been posted and sent, Yes! there will be plenty more upcoming chances to volunteer, foster, adopt, and otherwise help out in Daejeon. Weekly Saturday trips are still being arranged!
Conditions of the extension
The shelter is not allowed to take in more animals and must continue to reduce the number of animals though the adoption and fostering campaign. Actually, the reason the extension has been granted is due to the number of adoptions in October.
Statistics
Annie, Tim, Mark and friends got 14 dogs out in 3 days at the end of last month! Three dogs were moved to the KAPS shelter in Boeun (despite some stressful transportation glitches), two were moved to foster homes, and nine were adopted. A grand total of 40 have been moved to safety since the beginning of October, when news of the closing was first announced.
The bad news is that Annie did a headcount: There are 162 dogs remaining. This includes a couple recent litters of puppies that were born since the vet students, which had volunteered at the shelter in the past, stopped sterilizing for free. Fortunately, the Royal Animal Clinic’s Dr. Lee has suggested going there himself to sterilize the unneutered males for 30,000 per dog! This plan is currently under discussion.
Acknowledgments
Back to the good news. Big hugs of thank you to all the foster people and adoptive parents, as well as to Pam, Claudia, Becky, Karla, Sam, Eileen, Mark, Euni, Chaitanya, and Lei for donating generously to help the animals at this time of crisis (deepest apologies if I’ve missed anyone). Many thanks also for the past support from Fiona, Jody, Eric, Kenyon, Priscilla in South Africa, Sara in the US, Melissa in Canada, and Julia of in England whose help got this group started way back in 2006.
Special thanks also to Kyenan Keum of IAKA (International Aid for Korean Animals) who has contributed a large sum to help transport and vet the animals moving out of the shelter.
Publicity is working!
Mark Preston’s Facebook Group “Save the Dogs- The Daejeon 150” has reached over 130 members! The English and Korean posters and promotion have been working as well: 6 emails from Korean people interesting in adopting or donating came this week. Hopefully Jason Cresswess’s beautiful story in The Korea Times, Daejeon Dogs Need a Helping Hand, will find many more adopters and foster parents. So send all your friends the link to his story, or spread the word on Facebook
Please, don’t stop spreading the word, asking for help, putting up posters, and fund-raising! 162 furry friends are still counting on your help.
Thank you to everyone who has been helping to save the dogs at Daejeon’s shelter, which is still set to close by the end of the month.
In the past two weeks, about a dozen or so dogs have found homes, either adoptive ones or with temporary fosters. KAPS (Korean Animal Protection Society) has agreed to move some of the dogs to their shelter in Boeun (not sure how many yet). Another offer to take in number of dogs is pending, and Tim and Macquarie Bank Korea are working on petitioning the Daejeon City Council to grant an extension to Ms. Jung, the shelter manager, so that the remaining dogs will have a chance to find homes. I don’t have an accurate count, but there are about 150-160 still looking for homes.
DONATIONS
An account has been set up for donations at the Royal Animal Clinic in Daejeon. Dr. Lee vets and boards the dogs coming out of the shelter. Thank you to all those people who have contributed!
To make a donation, contact Tim for the bank account details.
Contact: Tim Vasudeva (Seoul)
Email: tim.vasudeva AT gmail.com
Mobile: 010 8940 5233
TIME IS RUNNING OUT
Homes for these dogs are still DESPERATELY NEEDED!
Help find adoptive and foster homes by spreading the word:
Poster
The awesome poster pictured above was designed by Claudia Revillot. Please download it from a link below (English or Korea available) and distribute it freely to help spread the word, fast!
Vet clinics would be a good place to start putting up posters. Also, if you know a vet near you who might be able to board one or two dogs for a while, ask them for help.
Facebook
Mark Preston created the Facebook group Save the Dogs- The Daejeon 150. If you’re on Facebook, please join the group and invite all your friends.
There are so many people who have been doing so much to help… I don’t have a list of everyone’s names, but you’re all amazing. Keep up the great work!!
UPDATE (by Karen): These two dogs were both rescued by Annie and taken to a local vet. They were both boarded there, waiting patiently for new homes but no longer on death row. See updated photos ofChester (who is now in a foster home) and Manuelito (still boarding at the clinic) in the Adoptable Animal forum. If you can foster, please contact Annie or Louise.
Many dogs and cats at the government-run animal control center in Daejeon will be killed on the 28th of September, including these young dogs as well as 2 Malteses. This Miniature Pinscher is only 8 months old! Let me know ASAP if you are interested adopting or fostering one of them. Thanks!
The sad reality of shelter life for animals & shelter workers. 5-10 million animals are killed each year because there are no homes for them. Visit www.borntodiepets.com
People must have renounced, it seems to me, all natural intelligence to dare to advance that animals are but animated machines…. It appears to me, besides, that [such people] can never have observed with attention the character of animals, not to have distinguished among them the different voices of need, of suffering, of joy, of pain, of love, of anger, and of all their affections. It would be very strange that they should express so well what they could not feel. ~Voltaire, Traité sur la tolerance
August was quite a humid and warm month in Korea. It was also a very wet month. At times it would rain for a whole week with only a slight pause. Such was the week of August 5th. I joined a friend to visit his family in a remote village surrounded by beautiful, lush mountains and a wild river. I had already known it was going to rain that week, though I had no idea the rain would fall continuously, the whole week. Upon arriving I was really excited at the sights surrounding me. There was no traffic (only a few cars), very little litter on the streets, a few people scattered here and there. The only noises were that of the rain hitting the leaves or traditional style Korean homes and of the raging river. I was happy to get away from the sights and sounds of the city. Of honking cars, traffic lights, shops, truck vendors, familiar people, familiar landscapes. I thought that the natural environment would de-stress me.
I found a strange article in the English Chosun Ilbo from August 3rd. Apparently, a Korean pet shop owner subsitituted Mao Zedong’s photo for that of a dog thinking it was “cute”. Not everybody agreed. Chairman Mao’s Long Arm Strikes Korean Pet Shop
A pet shop in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province has bowed to international pressure over a sign in its window that showed the head of a dog emblazoned on Tiananmen gate…
Kim Seong Kon of the Korea Herald asks the question “Are Koreans cat or dog people?” in an article from August 8th, ‘07. (Thanks Kim H. for sending me the link!)
Traditionally, Koreans tend to prefer dogs over cats. Korean pet shops and animal clinics are bursting with dogs, which are far more popular than cats as pets. On the streets of South Korea these days, you can easily find people walking their dogs.
Koreans will seldom abandon “man’s best friend,” but seem to rather easily throw out cats. As a result, Korea is suffering from the rapidly growing number of stray cats that rummage through garbage cans for food. Koreans appear to be dog people, not cat people, after all…
The article does well in pointing out how unloved cats are in Korea despite all their excellent qualities, but I still have to wonder what Mr. Kim means by “seldom” when he mentions abandoned dogs. I guess he hasn’t seen this video, visited a single animal shelter in the country, or ever walked by an alley in any Korean city!
Since we’ve recently been on the top of Dog Days, here’s an excerpt from a Joong-Ang Daily article from July 31st. (Thanks for the link, Tim!)
“Threatening and forcing dog meat retailers is just like urging a cancer patient to die early. We’ve been in business here for decades. We are doing fair business under permission from and compromise with the district office.”
Most animal lovers in Korea already know that The Dog Days of Summer are the cruelest period of time for canines on the peninsula. Not only are the chained dogs enduring intense heat often without clean water or shade, the even less fortunate ones (usually, the ones in cages) have their days numbered.
When people choose to eat “bo-shin-tang” or “young-yang-tang” (and both Koreans and Westerners do), either for (scientifically unproven) medical benefits, hopes of increasing male stamina, or just because it’s a “traditional” summer dish or an interesting cultural experience, they are partaking in a violent practice. Dogs used for dog meat stew are raised in unsanitary conditions and killed inhumanely. Of course, the more you think about it, there really isn’t a “humane” way to kill anything and factory farms in the West don’t do much better. Now I’m getting off topic.
Although they are graphic and disturbing in nature, I’d like to encourage people to look at the photos on the IAKA website. After witnessing the suffering of these animals we can begin to feel a stronger need to help make change. Please view International Aid for Korean Animals’ dog abuse photos. If you would like to help spread the word on the cruelty of the practice and the unhealthiness of dog meat, consider participating in KAPS’ leafletting campaign.
But as I sit here in Canada, so far from the Korean heat, it’s hard for me to know how I can help. Actually, right now I’m thinking mostly of the dogs I failed to help. In particular, the dogs at the park at Asan that I met in May. I didn’t publish their photos earlier partly because a friend and I were brainstorming what we could do to save them.
These two Jindo mixes live(d) ? chained up behind a duck restaurant not far from an artificial climbing wall in Asan city. My Korean friend and I found them tied up on a hot day so we brought them water, food, treats, toys, and a fleece blanket to sleep on. I was prepared with that stuff because I had seen them a few days earlier on a separate trip. On that day I had to build a lean-to to help protect the female from the rain. She was tied to a tree with absolutely no shelter.
If all this weren’t disturbing enough, as my friend and I were leaving we saw some other things: Two empty collars still tied to chains but with no dogs on them. A baseball bat. A ladder leaned up next to a pine tree.
I wrote to KAPS and the director confirmed my fears (they are being raised for food) and warned me there wasn’t much I could do. If I bought them, I would be adding money to the dog meat trade. If I stole them, they would be replaced by others. The dogs’ owner didn’t even want us to give them water that day, but I grinned fake-innocently and my Korean friend kept talking calmly until he just turned away and let us do what we wanted. There didn’t seem much chance he would just give them to me.
Talking about this now is too late. These two sweet Jindos who licked my face and wagged their tails for the miniscule amount of love we showed them are probably not even alive anymore.
Here is some international news that has been collecting in my inbox for the past couple months. Maybe not timely, but still interesting stories you may not have read yet.
Yesterday I got a call from an SBS TV reporter asking for a interview for the local station about my friends’ shelter trip last Saturday. Hurray! I thought, what a great chance to put some of the sweet puppy faces on TV and try to look for adopters. I got permission to take 3 of the shelter dogs to the groomers. They slept there overnight on borrowed blankies with lots of good food and toys. This morning I picked them up all clean-smelling and happily bewildered and anxiously awaited the reporters.
My friend Annie and her cat-rescuing friend, Yoon, also came over with 3 rescued kittens, Fatal, Sarang, and Mini. Wow, my house had maxed out with 9 animals. Newly adopted Jasper, my Sage, and Scruffy (who came back on Saturday to make the Canadian voyage with us) waited with anticipation, too.
But the numbers had not yet maxed out. On a lunchtime pee-break Sage made her first rescue: she sniffed out two teeny weeny live creatures from a broken plastic laundry hamper that was not outside this morning. Add two orphaned kittens to make it 11 furbabies in the house and this TV reporter has got himself a story!
Except he never showed up! We waited from noon until 4 and then my friends had to go home to take care of the new babies. I reluctantly returned the shelter dogs back to their overcrowded greenhouse without having accomplished much except giving them a taste of the life they don’t have. Well, they must feel good to be clean at least, but what a major disappointment
Yesterday, the Korea Times reported new animal protection laws that will come into effect in 2008. The laws include mandatory ID tags for pets as well as more protection for farm and lab animals.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Sunday announced that pet owners face fines of under 300,000 won unless they register their dogs with the district office. Failure to comply with regulations will mean fines of 100,000-200,000 won.
Dog owners who do not regularly vaccinate their pets or clean up after them in public places will also be subject to fines up to 300,000 won and 100,000 won each.
Children aged less than 14 years may not hold onto dog collars, and outright abandoning pets will entail fines of under 500,000 won, it said.
The article also reports that 8 billion won was spent “by authorities” last year taking care of the 79,000 lost pets.
The luggage is out and Sage wants to make sure we won’t forget to pack her. Little does she know this is more than just a little summer vacation. We’re moving back to Canada on Thursday! Thank God our Air Canada flight is booked for July 12th, 3 days before they stop allowing pets to fly on passenger flights -either in cabin OR in cargo! What total NONSENSE!!!
Anyway, I’m going to start grad school this fall (Library Studies), so the family is packing up and heading to Montreal. I can’t believe I only have 4 days left in Korea! Since I’ve “moved home forever” 3 times already and always ended up back in Daejeon, I don’t expect this is the last time I’ll be here. In fact, I hope to find a camp job for summer vacation 2008, and revisit the Daejeon shelter for a few weeks afterward.
What about the website? Luck is on my side, again. Over the past several months I’ve been fortunate to meet amazing, dedicated animal rescuers (many of whom were scrubbing dirt on Saturday) and they have agreed to carry on posting stories here and moderating the forums. I expect to learn (and write) a lot more about animal welfare issues while living in Quebec, the so-called “puppy mill capital of Canada”, so I hope this site will continue to grow even while I am away. Still, as happy as I am to be starting school, I’m very sad to be leaving.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Tim, Chaitanya, Gregg, John, Mark, Louise, Annie, Jules, Eric, and of course Lt. Com. Lee for coming to the Daejeon dog shelter. Between the 11 of us, we represented Canada & Quebec, the USA, England, Australia, India, the Netherlands, and Korea! (Pretty cool.) I think we all did a fantastic job cleaning the dirtiest things we’ve ever seen in our lives!!
The results of yesterday Daejeon shelter visit:
We worked from 11am to 4pm on a very hot, sunny day: an amazing feat in itself. The most impressive task we accomplished was scraping, scrubbing, and bleaching the trays from under ALL of the dog cages (70~80), which took several hours despite the size of our group. We also moved a dozen giant bags of poo to another location, gave some treats and toys to the dogs, played with the big Jindo-types a little bit, got more information about how the shelter is run, and left some stuff for the shelter manager: bowls, collars, leashes, treats, shampoo, and of course cleaning materials for the next time.
If you would like to join in a future trip, check periodically in the Events, Meetings, and Trips Forum. Know of / want to organize your own animal-helping event? Please post in the same forum and let us know so we can join you! Thanks!
First I should explain why nothing has been posted in over a week: I’ve been in Shanghai! In an effort to relax I tried my best to avoid all animals, but lo and behold some found me. At a houseparty I noticed evidence of a resident cat: he was hiding under the bed in a room down the hall, shy because he was rescued off the street. His owners adopted him from a local foreigner-run animal rescue organization, Second Chance Animal Aid. The group has adoption days twice a month at an Irish pub, and as luck would have it I found myself eating brunch a block away on adoption day! That is how I got to meet the handsome adoptable guy in the photo here (I didn’t catch his name). Foster parents bring their cats, kittens, dogs and puppies to the pub -which has a grassy courtyard gated off from the street- and potential adopters can meet their furry friends face to face. After grilling SCAA’s Admistrative Director, Flora Clyde, for a good half hour, I was in awe at the amazing work this organization is doing. They got started in 2005 and have already adopted out nearly 400 rescued or abandoned animals!
Their website is also awesome. Please check out www.scaashanghai.org to see the kind of organization I’m hoping South Korea can have someday!!
Last week my husband and I took our dog for a picnic at a nearby streamside park. When we were leaving, Eric pulled over to answer a phone call. A large Jindo dog walked freely past our car, and having my camera in my hand I started taking pictures.
Not a minute went by before a man came walking a big yellow dog. At first I thought he was just taking his pet for a walk, but then he crouched down in the middle of the street and the dog sort of cowered. It was very strange. Next, he walked over and hooked the dog up to a post by the side of the road (which drops down on the other side a meter or more). He saw me taking pictures and my husband on the phone, so he left the dog there and walked away.
I immediately surveyed the area and read the banner of the restaurant from where he had just emerged. Yes, it had dog soup on the menu. A woman down the lane was leading a couple small dogs somewhere. We didn’t move our car, Eric pretended to continue his conversation. The man came back, got the dog, and walked away. We drove away and waited 10 minutes, drove back and saw nothing more.
I have a feeling that this man found our behaviour (not to mention my camera) disturbing, and I have a strong feeling he had no good intentions for that dog. But what can I do about it, without having witnessed anything? (more…)
A few days after I took in King, you may recall that the farmer got another dog. That cute, frisky, very whiny puppy only lasted two days and then disappeared. I have no idea where he went, I can only hope he escaped. Well, not long afterward the farmer replaced the puppy with the most ferocious guard dog. He’s so big and scary I have yet to befriend him, frankly I’m scared. I went over to get King’s old house (this new guy is about 5 times too large for it and I know some other dog could use it), but Mr. Growly-pants wouldn’t let me near it. Granted, I didn’t have any biscuits with me, or fresh steak. I will try again, of course with caution. If cookies don’t make him wag his tail, I will just ask the farmer if I can have my doghouse back! Anyway, I’m pretty depressed about the changeover rate of dogs around here. It feels like there’s an avalanche of them, there’s no end.
On May 3rd, an Art Fair and Auction was held at the British Embassy in Seoul. Karen Malia, Diana Underwood, Angela Leach, Gordana Hulina, and Anthea Fawcett organized the event, and through ticket sales and auctioned art pieces were able to generate 11,600,000 won (roughly US$12,000) to support the work of the Korean Animal Protection Society, and specifically the new shelter in Boeun! Very impressive!! All the money goes directly toward helping animals.
To read more about the event and see pictures of the donated art pieces, please visit the KAPS website. Click the top-right link to the English pages and then “Fundraising Campaign”.
The April 22nd meeting in Daejeon was quite productive for just getting to know each other. We all went away with homework. Nancie was the quickest to do hers, she set up the brand new Animal Lovers In Korea Yahoo Group (see sidebar), so that we can more easily stay in touch with each other (and hopefully with the hundreds and hundreds of others we’ll soon meet. Are you one? Please join!). The next Daejeon meeting will be this Sunday, May 13th. All animal lovers welcome! More info here.
I’d heard stories about cats being tied up, but I’d never seen any until a friend sent me this photo last week (click to enlarge). Apparently, these ones are taken into the shop at night and put out again in the morning. I think their presence deters the mice or something. Anyone care to share ideas about how to solve this one?
Scott in Daegu found a dog running through traffic and took him in so that he wouldn’t get hit by a car. He was found a few days ago and the owner has not yet been located. If you see a lost dog ad that fits this description, or you know someone who has lost their pet in Daegu recently, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Scott. Thank you!
Scott writes:
Found in Siji (Daegu) near E-Mart. Seems to be about one year old. Very playful, loving, and friendly. Is housetrained so was clearly someone’s pet. Is in great shape except for a long scratch/mark along his back where it looks like he was dragged. White, short hair.
On Sunday April 15th I attended the opening ceremony of the new KAPS animal shelter along with my friends Annie, Mark and Chaitanya. Despite nearly missing the free bus to Boeun, we had a great time. We were able to meet many more animal lovers both Korean and international, listen to speeches, have a tour of the new facilities and meet some of the new residents: a Siberian Husky, an Alaskan Malamute, a Pointer, a Jindo and a Great Pyrenees; beautiful, big dogs who were all happy to greet visitors and run freely in their nice, fenced in yard.
The director of KAPS gave a really moving speech which impressed me a lot. Here it is in its entirety:
Congratulations Speech of Sunnan Keum at KAPS Shelter Opening Ceremony, April 15th, 2007.
“Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I would like to thank every one of you with all my heart for visiting us from inside and outside of the country to celebrate the opening of our new Boeun Animal Shelter of KAPS.
Back in 1986, I purchased a land measuring about 496m2 in Daemyoung-dong, Daegu City for the first time. It was for the purpose of taking care of abandoned cats and dogs. It seemed really spacious at that time, I thought. Because, till then, I had been assured that there wouldn’t be so many abandoned animals. I used to believe that any man or woman who encountered such helpless animals unable to speak for themselves will take good care of them with sympathy.
However, now I know that I was so naive and foolish to have had that belief. I found many cats and dogs suffering in extreme starvation and thirst all over this country. Warm-hearted people would often bring me such animals instead of selling them to a dog-trader or at a market. In no time, the land of 496m2 was fully occupied by cats, dogs, and even wild animals.
I was drowing in unspeakable shock and sorrow, but I had to pull myself together and thought about what was wrong and what I should do from then on. Firstly, people need to be educated and informed in order to cultivate the thought that every single life has its own dignity. Secondly, we need to generate publicity for the importance of sterilization, as an obvious method we can reduce the number of abandoned animals. And at the same time, we urgently need a larger animal shelter.
We always dreamed of an animal shelter in a good extensive environment. But it was only a dream on our economic conditions year after year till a Korean-American eco-activisit, Danny Suh, gave an unexpected fund-aid of 25,000 dollars in the year 2000. The fund was the seed to build up our new shelter. However, the dream we had was not going to be realized so quickly. It took about 7 years against all the odds to complete the construction of our new animal shelter, which is located in the forest with fresh air all around, and 10 times larger in size than the one in Daegu. I cannot be happier now to have met those who have the same belief in our heart, and to have realized our long-cherished desiere together.
However, frankly speaking, my real wish does not lie in building up more and more shelters everywhere in this country. The animals grown in the human hands are no better than babies who are unable to express their thought in words. Only if the owners of those animals have the conscience and responsibility to keep them till the end… And only if people have the tradition to think in the place of those weak animals… there will be no abandoned animals at all. And naturally, we won’t need animals shelters any longer. This is my real wish and desire.
Loving animals means loving any life on earth, which, in turn, means loving humans. I have had this reassurance ever since I got to take care of a sick kitten which had serious skin disease in 1982. By loving our animals, we must make every single effort to make Korea a peaceful and warm country, not the country of animal abuse but the international example of loving animals.
I would like to send you many thanks again to help us build up this animal shelter, whch can be recorded as the first animal protection center in the history of Korea. And with this pride in our heart, we will have to try harder to protect our animals. For your reference, the names of supporters who dedicated a lot are carved on the wall of our management building.”
Donations to support Sunnan Keum’s work to help Korean animals can be given online through the Korean Animal Protection Society website www.koreananimals.or.kr
Are you interested in fostering, fundraising, volunteering at a shelter, raising awareness, writing articles, designing Tshirts, making posters, helping homeless or chained animals in your neighbourhood, or anything else along these lines?
My friend Annie and I are looking to meet some animal-lovers who want to do some work for homeless and needy cats and dogs in or around Daejeon. If you would like to share your ideas about getting involved in helping Korean animals, please join us! We would really like to meet some like-minded people, collect ideas, and take action!
Construction of the Korean Animal Protection Society’s brand new animal shelter is set to finish next month. Animals will be able to move in one month later, after the paint fumes have cleared. The new shelter is set in a wooded, hilly area away from busy city traffic and there will be a lot more space to house dogs and cats. The new shelter will include an education room, too! To view more photos of the shelter and to find out how you can donate, please click here.
The Kangnam 25 Hour Clinic (강남25시 동물병원)is a veterinary hospital in Seoul that takes in local stray dogs and holds them for free until they can be adopted (adoption fee W40,000). One vet speaks basic English and Japanese and helped my new friend Mero a lot when she brought in Pada, a lost Maltese she found on the street.
Mero tells me that: “Because of the Kangnam-Gu Ward Office (강남구청) assignment, the Kangnam 25 Hour Clinic is taking dogs into temporary protective custody. After 30 days they will move the dog to a shelter. The dog can live only 30 more days after it goes to the shelter (if no adoptive home is found). If people take a dog direclty to the shelter, these dogs can live 60 days at the shelter.”
If you live in the Kangnam-Gu area, have found a dog and cannot adopt or foster him/her yourself, or if you are looking to adopt a pet, please visit this clinic.
Address: 240-1 Nonhyun-Dong, Kangnam-Gu, Seoul Line 7 Kangnam-Gu Office Station (730) (주소: 서울 강남구 논현동 전철 240-1 / 7호선 강남구청역) Phone: 02-545-8575
There is currently a recall on some pet foods sold in the US which have been causing kidney failure in dogs and cats. A couple of the companies are popular in Korea as well, so please check out these lists if you are buying imported food:
The KARA website posted a story last month from the Munhwa Daily about pet owners receiving compensation for pets who died in cases of renal failure caused by tainted dog food in 2004. They do not list which companies were involved, however.
Last week Mero in Seoul found a stray dog in her neighbourhood. She did everything she could to find the owner and was successful, after several days of searching. I learned from her story about how to make sure the people claiming to be the dog’s owners truly are the owners, rather than frauds (potentially dog meat traders, the bunchers of Korea). I’m very happy that she is allowing me to post her story here.
As of today, I’ve opened A FORUM for anyone with questions or answers about caring for and helping animals: pets, as well as lost, abandoned, chained or caged dogs, cats, rabbits, etc. Of course the focus is still on animals in Korea, but I think people in other countries can help us, too, by sharing their knowledge.
The forum requires registration in order to protect us from spam. Also, this space will be a safe place to discuss animal welfare issues where insensitive remarks will be not be tolerated.
I really hope that this will help connect people to more information than I am able to provide on my own. Let’s take advantage of the community’s knowledge and share the info we need to help as many animals and people as possible!
The forum is located at: www.lonelylifetime.com/forums/. For now, everything will be lumped into one “general” category, I’ll subdivide as necessary. So if you have a question whose answer will benefit many people, or if you’d like to get more than just my opinion on something (good idea!), please post your questions, opinions, and/or answers in the forum.
I am very saddened to report that our friend Sommer Chambers, the founder of Seoul Cat Rescue, passed away last week. She was a devoted helper of animals who will be greatly missed by humans and felines alike. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 3rd in Seoul. Donations in Sommer’s memory can be given to the Korean Animal Protection Society. To read about Sommer’s work please see Seoul Cat Rescue
The last Tuesday of February is Spay Day USA, the Humane Society of the USA’s annual campaign to promote the spaying/neutering of pets, not only for their health but also to help curb the massive pet overpopulation crisis. I found out about the campaign a little late for this year (or very very early for next).
The HSUS action kit has a dozen files for printing stickers, brochures, or iron-on transfers for clothing to help spread the word and plenty of ideas on how to get involved in their campaign.
Korea is in desperate need of a spay/neuter campaign of their own, so I’ll be reading through all this material to see what ideas I might be able to apply here. I’d love to hear from anyone willing to help prepare slogans using animal shelter statistics in Korea. Can you draw? Let’s make some posters to handout… everywhere!
On Sunday, February 18th I visited my friends Mark and Louise and they took me on a depressing tour of their neighbourhood. This photo shows one of four dogs kept in a dilapidated row of pens in a situation that looks like a dog farm, though we didn’t actually speak to anyone to confirm. A few Bo Shin Tang (dog soup) restaurants down the street make me believe so. Click the photo to go to the gallery.
We also saw several dogs chained to doghouses in the front of people’s houses, guard dogs most likely but, again, I can only guess. They were cleaner and relatively better taken care of. I was surprised to see a pair of bulldogs living in an outdoor pen, not on chains.
I’m not sure which is sadder, the dogs who have never had any attention or care throughout their lives, or the ones who once did. Take the two heartbreaking cases ofthe Maltese and a Cocker Spaniel. These two must have been indoor pets at one time but now, rejected by their original owners, they live in filth at the mercy of the elements. Louise feeds them twice a day and has given them a bed and a cushion to help keep them warm.
The Maltese is kept by a friendly grandfather who has a Jindo-type as well and keeps their living area clean, but the Maltese is matted and has a hurt leg. The unfortunate Spaniel a few feet away is owned by the storekeepers down the street. She was standing in a pile of her own waste when we saw her on Sunday, wagging her tail excitedly because she had visitors. She was very fat, I just hope she isn’t pregnant.
Every time I see things like this, I feel lost at how to help. I wish I could take them all home. If anyone would like to foster or adopt either the Spaniel or the Maltese, contact me and we can work with Louise to get them out of this situation.
As for the dogs in cages, I think the most realistic way to help is to make a donation to International Aid for Korean Animals to support their education campaign “aiming to educate school-aged youths about animal rights and welfare issues”. Alternatively, participate in IAKA letter-writing campaigns asking Korean government officials and/or the media “to protect dogs and cats in markets and in the countryside” and to “educate the public about the myths of dog & cat meat products.”
For the 5th year in a row, Dogs Deserve Better has been running a Valentine’s Day campaign to help chained dogs in the USA. Volunteers and concerned neighbours across the country make cards, donate coupons for dog treats, and send in addresses of homes where dogs are kept outside on chains 24/7 through subzero winter temperatures, often without adequate shelter or food.
The DDB organization adds an informational brochure explaining why tethering is inhumane and offering solutions and help, and sends off the valentines to thousands of American homes with neglected outdoor dogs. Neighbours notice that many of the homes, after receiving a valentine, take their dogs inside, ask for help to build fencing, or at least start to walk their dog. A few people contact the organization asking for help to find a better home if they cannot bring the dog into their own home.
In Korea, the lack of street names makes finding addresses impossible, and eliminates the possibility of sending something anonymously. Hand delivering a Korean language info brochure is technically possible, if you have a strategy to overcome the cultural taboo of telling someone older than you what to do (emphasizing the spirit of help might work). I think I will bring King a special treat and tape a heart to his doghouse. At this point, the farmer already thinks I’m a little batty so I’ve got nothing to lose.
I just read about this last night and am so sad that I will miss it. A collection of street cat photos by Korean artist Ko Kyung-won will be on display until February 10th at Gallery I in Samchong-dong, Seoul. I’m a Daejeonite, so I have no idea where that is. There is also a book for sale.
…the exhibition and book are not only about the beauty of cats. They include the stories of people who care about street cats and their struggle for setting the prejudices against their loved ones straight and for making them acknowledged members of the urban ecosystem.
Here are some street cat photos from the Gallery I website, where you can also get more information about the exhibit (if you read Korean).
The Times article also includes links to “Where Cat Lovers Can Connect Online”, including other cat artists’ beautiful websites as well as The Korean Organization for the Protection of Cats (in Korean).
If anyone gets a chance to see the exhibit or knows another place where I could buy the book, let me know!
So many people are finding animals in the street, it’s hard to know whether they have been abandoned or lost. I’ve heard stories of families who get rid of their pets as soon as soon as they incur a vet bill, or because they’ve become frustrated not knowing how to housetrain him/her. I’ve also seen way too many people walking their dogs without leashes, so we can’t immediately assume that the animals on the streets are necessarily unwanted, they may have run off.
For anyone who has found a dog or housecat on the street, here are some ways to try to locate his/her owner (assuming, of course, there isn’t a name tag): (more…)
With a presidential signature set for January 22nd, revisions of the animal protection law in Korea will be finalized (though they will go into effect next year).
According to the Korea Times article “Pets Required to Wear ID Tags” , the new law sets fines of up to W300,000 for pets without identification tags outdoors. Penalties for hanging or otherwise killing animals cruelly will increase to up to W5,000,000.
One very progressive feature is this stipulation:
Pet owners will have to attend mandatory sessions to learn about care for their animals. Violators will be subject to 500,000 won in fines.
That’s amazing! I wish North America would put that kind of law into effect. I wonder how all this will be implemented?
Spread the word! Work with your favorite retailer or vet on a donation program. Tell everyone in your network to cut out the UPC code from the specified size Natural Balance® bagged food, case of canned food, 2.5 lb or 4 lb roll purchased from their retailer and attach it to the register receipt as a proof-of-purchase.
Request that they donate the UPC and receipt* to your Charity - it’s just like donating money. When your Charity has collected 50 UPC codes, send them to us and you will receive a check made out to your Nonprofit Animal Charity.
Luckily, Natural Balance is available at vet clinics in Korea. Unluckily, my little 7.5kg schnauzer doesn’t eat that much and we’ve only saved about 10 barcodes over the last long while.
Please help by either sending me your barcodes and receipts, (contact me for my mailing address) or making a collection at your vet office and then mailing them in directly to the company. Since Natural Balance is an American company, I will be asking them to donate to KAPS’ US branch.
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), working with North Shore Animal League America (NSALA ) has rehomed 30 of Beijing’s unwanted animals… in the USA!
Since Beijing has banned large breed dogs, owners have been forced to get rid of their companions. Pets are also abandoned for the “typical” reasons like when their family moves, and for excuses like “not being beautiful enough”, or rumours about dogs being linked to SARS. (more…)
From December 30th to January 1st, I visited Kangwon Do -Korea’s most northeastern province- with my husband and our mini schnauzer to celebrate the New Year with our Korean friend in his hometown. As expected, our gracious hosts welcomed us like family though we had never met before. His mother prepared handmade meatless dumplings special for me, and filled us with food for the entire duration of our stay. His whole family treated my dog like a princess though it was a bit strange for them to have a dog indoors with a 6 month old baby (my friend’s new nephew).
In my friend’s house, the holiday was fantastic, but venturing out to do some sightseeing was not a happy experience for a person who has an eye open for dogs.
Not a Happy New Year
Driving between Daejeon and Yeongwol, the tiny town in Kangwon Do where we stayed, the chained and caged dogs became more and more numerous. I started seeing dogs chained up at almost every gas station and village house. Whereas in Daejeon it’s often one dog at a gas station, in the country I often saw 2 or 3 together, the bigger ones on chains and the smaller ones sometimes running free.
When we started visiting tourist spots around Yeongwol, I had the chance to approach some of the friendlier-looking dogs. This chained spaniel broke my heart.
This poor girl barked at us from across the parking lot of the Muksan Art Museum. It wasn’t a “get out of my territory” bark, but a “please see me” cry. (more…)
Thank you, Chaitanya, for sharing this disturbing news story.
Could volunteering be illegal for foreigners in Korea?
The Korea Times on December 26th reports that “Foreigners may face deportation or fines if they volunteer at orphanages or organize performances without reporting them to the authorities.” Appartently, doing volunteer work changes the nature of your status here. Does that include volunteering at animal shelters? I don’t know!
The Year of the Dog is coming to an end, but there is still a lot of work to be done for Korea’s dogs and cats. The 2007 Korean Animal Protection Society calendar tells the stories (in Korean and in English) of dogs and cats who have been rescued and are now either living at the shelter or with their loving adoptive homes. Why not share their stories with others by hanging a calendar in your office, or giving one as a gift?
Calendars are for sale for W10,000 on the KAPS website. Profits from calendar sales go directly to helping Korea’s animals.
Last Tuesday, in reaction to a strain of bird flu being found on a chicken farm, culling of livestock began in Iksan. Chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs have been killed.
Animals Asia Foundation, who have protested dog culling practices in China with some success, write this about the culling in South Korea:
The South Korean authorities senseless reaction to the recent outbreak of bird flu is seeing hundreds of dogs brutally killed in the areas of the infected chickens. The blame for bird flu lies squarely on the shoulders of intensive farming practices and, as the experts emphasise time and time again, there is no evidence at all that dogs or cats play any part in the spread of this virus. It is all too easy to blame the animals for the sins of an industry that needs a thorough overhaul.
Animals Asia has written to the Korean Embassy in Hong Kong to protest this reactionary slaughter and needs your help to write a short letter of your own to the Korean Embassy in your area, to express your shock and outrage. You will need to do an internet search to locate the email address of the Korean Embassy in your country. Thank you.
The Korea Times reported these disturbing statistics about pet abandonment on November 16th, 2006 (highlighting is mine):
Number of Abandoned Pets Growing
An increasing number of pets are being abandoned in Seoul. According to Seoul City officials, 2,018 pets were abandoned in 2000 and 3,004 in 2001. The number doubled to 7,389 in 2003 and rose to 15,688 in 2004, with 17,577 last year.
As of October this year, the number reached 14,075. Among the animals, 79 percent were dogs and 20 percent were cats.
The rest included rabbits, hamsters, iguanas and ferrets. The increasing number of abandoned pets is a burden on the city government’s budget. The city provides a subsidy to each ward office for each animal’s care.
11-16-2006 22:35
Back in August, the same newspaper reported that of the animals sent to shelters “most of them are killed”. Luckily, stricter regulations for pet owners will come into effect next year, including “the introduction of the pet owners’ registration system”, as well as the requirement that all pets wear ID when taking them out for a walk. There will also be a ban on cruelty to animals, including brutal killings.
* Warning: Graphic Content. IN HOPE, An Animal Shelter Story (from the USA) is important to watch before we start talking as though Asia is the worst place for animals. Every country can improve its treatment of animals.
The video is also available in Korean thanks to my student, Lee Dong Yong, who volunteered to translate.
A quote from the makers of In Hope:
As a nation, [Americans] claim to love cats and dogs. Millions of households have pets, and billions of dollars are spent yearly on pet supplies and food. But we should take a hard, sobering look at a different annual statistic: the millions of dogs and cats given up to shelters or left to die on the streets. And the numbers tell only half the story.
Every cat or dog who dies as a result of pet overpopulation—whether humanely in a shelter or by injury, disease, or neglect—is an animal who, more often than not, would have made a wonderful companion, if given the chance. Tremendous as the problem of pet overpopulation is, it can be solved if each of us takes just one small step, starting with not allowing our animals to breed. Here’s information about this crisis and why spaying and neutering is the first step to a solution.
Animals Asia Foundation (AAF), a Hong Kong-based charity dedicated to ending cruelty and restoring respect for all animals in Asia, has a number of inspiring projects at work.
Most recently, they’ve begun a project to provide Beijing’s big dog owners with “humane muzzles” as a “short term solution to the capital’s growing rabies problem”. Currently, 50,000 muzzles at cost are on offer to the city as AAF tries to help Beijing’s big dog owners keep their dogs:
Beijing Municipal government has already started a campaign aimed at eradicating large-breed dogs (taller than 35cm) - as well as unregistered dogs and smaller dogs that exceed the one dog per family limit. Violators face a 5,000 yuan fine and pets are being impounded. (more…)
