About two weeks ago, 18 dogs arrived at the JFK Airport in NYC all the way from South Korea, to get a new start in the United States. Most dogs were from puppy mills, the streets, or meat farms.
Many helped those dogs get there, but the most prominent role was played by Ms. Jung, a truly selfless woman who has been rescuing dogs for her whole life. She got heavily involved in rescuing dogs about 20 years ago, and now runs a private refuge for her dogs. However, instead of keeping the dogs in cages, she allows them to reside in her house.
Ms. Jung is in her mid-60s, with her own health problems, but she spends all her money and time in caring for the 150-200 dogs that reside in her home at a time. She struggles to pay the bills, but she never skimps – if there’s a dog that needs attention, she will get it.
The biggest challenges facing dogs in South Korea are meat farms. About 17,000 meat farms are inside South Korea, and around 2 million dogs are slaughtered for human consumption every year. Also, puppy mills are a huge problem in South Korea as well, and strays are a developing problem inside the country.
The only rational solution is to transport the hundreds of rescues to other countries. In 2015, the Free Korean Dogs organization was founded to help transport dogs to other countries to rehome them. Now, the 18 dogs that arrived have already been adopted in the States!
A big thank you to Ms. Jung who has devoted her life and her money to rescue these dogs!
To help Ms. Jung care for the hundreds of dogs, please consider donating here. If you’re interested in adopting a dog from South Korea, please contact Ruff House Rescue or Free Korean Dogs.
