Heart-wrenching trip to south korean dog meat farm of olympian gus kenworthy ends with rescuing a puppy

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It’s one of the cases when victory in the Olympics comes as something secondary. Because the only visit and participation in the Olympic Games in South Korea have brought so much into the life of Gus Kenworthy and his boyfriend.

The couple decided to visit one of 17,000 dog farms there, and to put it mildly, they were appalled by what they saw. Poor animals are kept in awful conditions there. They don’t get enough food and are treated in a cruel way. And that’s in the 21st century when we consider dogs to be our friends. Gus said:

The way these animals are being treated, however, is completely inhumane and culture should never be a scapegoat for cruelty.

And to make the life of at least one animal better, they decided to adopt one of the cute puppies from the farm. It’s something the animal will be grateful to them forever. By doing so, the Olympian wants to drive attention to the problem of cruel treatment of dogs in South Korea.

This morning Matt and I had a heart-wrenching visit to one of the 17,000 dog farms here in South Korea. Across the country there are 2.5 million dogs being raised for food in some of the most disturbing conditions imaginable. Yes, there is an argument to be made that eating dogs is a part of Korean culture. And, while don't personally agree with it, I do agree that it's not my place to impose western ideals on the people here. The way these animals are being treated, however, is completely inhumane and culture should never be a scapegoat for cruelty. I was told that the dogs on this particular farm were kept in "good conditions" by comparison to other farms. The dogs here are malnourished and physically abused, crammed into tiny wire-floored pens, and exposed to the freezing winter elements and scorching summer conditions. When it comes time to put one down it is done so in front of the other dogs by means of electrocution sometimes taking up to 20 agonizing minutes. Despite the beliefs of some, these dogs are no different from the ones we call pets back home. Some of them were even pets at one time and were stolen or found and sold into the dog meat trade. Luckily, this particular farm (thanks to the hard work of the Humane Society International and the cooperation of a farmer who's seen the error of his ways) is being permanently shut down and all 90 of the dogs here will be brought to the US and Canada where they'll find their fur-ever homes. I adopted the sweet baby in the first pic (we named her Beemo) and she'll be coming to the US to live with me as soon as she's through with her vaccinations in a short couple of weeks. I cannot wait to give her the best life possible! There are still millions of dogs here in need of help though (like the Great Pyrenees in the 2nd pic who was truly the sweetest dog ever). I'm hoping to use this visit as an opportunity to raise awareness to the inhumanity of the dog meat trade and the plight of dogs everywhere, including back home in the US where millions of dogs are in need of loving homes! Go to @hsiglobal's page to see how you can help. #dogsarefriendsnotfood #adoptdontshop ❤️?

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New Olympics. Same me.

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Naturally, the world community proved it can’t be indifferent, and lots of people commented on the problem and voiced their concerns on Twitter.

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