New and Desperate

[Wiseguys]

Hi! I'm new here and desperate to help a particular dog in a South Korean shelter. He is a greyhound (and yellow). I run a rescue here in the US and would like to bring him here. Airfare and vet bills aren't a problem, but I'm desperately seeking someone that can pull him from the shelter, get his vet certificate, and put him on a plane.

ANY advice, information, ANYTHING is greatly appreciated.

[annie]

First of all,
where exactly is that dog? Where did you see him (meaning website)?
Thanks for wanting to help out here!

[Wiseguys]

He was brought up on a forum about my breed of dogs (italian greyhounds) by someone IN Korea wondering if the two (this guy and her ig)would get along. Of course, its very dangerous to have an unknown, untested big grey with a small dog so she's very leery of adopting him. I believe he's in Gwangju (or near there).

[Karen]

Hi there,

Could you maybe post a link to the forum you're talking about so we could have some background information? I can't understand by your message if the dog or just the person is in Gwangju, Korea or what you mean by an "unknown, untested big grey"?

Sorry, I think I'm missing some info so I don't understand the situation. Please clarify and we can try to help.

[Wiseguys]

I'm afraid I can't post a link because it's a members only forum (dog forum). However, I'll start from the beginning and see if I can explain it a little better!

An American living in Korea has an italian greyhound. Her friend tells her about a Big Grey (meaning like the racing ones, I'm sure you got that part! LOL!) in a shelter. So the American goes to meet him. She would adopt him, however, she cannot because of the risk to her existing small dog. But she goes back to check on him and give him some attention. She's heartbroken over him being in the shelter, and her friend (Korean) tells her that he could end up as meat because of his size and coloring. And that's where we came in and myself (as well as others) are trying to find a way to get him to the US. I understand about shipping costs, but apparently he must stay there for 30 days after getting his shots, and before coming to the US.

I hope this helps!

[Karen]

Thanks for clarifying, now I get it! When I was living in Daejeon (I'm now in Montreal), I did see ads for Greyhound racing, so it doesn't totally surprise me that there are some in Korea, but I never did see one. I'm so happy you're willing to help save him.

OK, first step would be to locate the dog in Gwangju. Do you know the name of the shelter he's at?

I did a search and found this shelter in Gwangju: http://www.kcanimal.or.kr/

There is a dog listed as a "hound" , number 7-869, on page 7 which might be the dog you mean. Sorry, I can't figure out how to link to the picture directly ERG!!! But here it is:
http://i15.tinypic.com/4kezhvn.jpg

Is this the one? He's yellow, that very unlucky colour for dogs in Korea :(

If you can confirm this is the dog that you mean, then here is the contact info for this particular shelter:

TEL: 062) 530-2808
Address:
Gwangju Gwang-yeok-si, Buk-Gu, Yong Bong Dong
Jeon Nam Dae Hak Gyo, Su Eui Gwa Dae Hak Nae, Dong Mul Bo Ho So

Phewf. But that's semi good news. This shelter is affliliated with a university vet school, which means that selling the dogs to traders is unlikely. Research is another issue.

Anyway, step one is just to let me know if this is the dog you mean...

[Karen]

Hubby to the rescue!! My husband got the frame to open in a new window. Here's the link:
http://kcanimal.or.kr/gallery/gallery.html?first=96&page=0&code=&keyfield=&key=&sdate=&edate=&category=01

[PuppyandGonzo]

Why is yellow an unlucky color for dogs in Korea?

[Karen]

The dogs raised as food are usually the yellow dogs. IAKA's website mentions this on this page: http://www.koreananimals.org/info/myths.htm

I've found it mentioned on other sites as well, but they have graphics that I don't want to link to :(

[Wiseguys]

THAT'S THE DOG!!!

[Wiseguys]

I know what you mean about graphic photos. I've learned SO much in the 24 hours that I've been working on this. I don't even know what to say about it. Horrifying.

[Karen]

OK, now the next step would be to find out if he is still available for adoption, and if so, to find a foster home. Can the American person who originally posted the message about him on the other forum find that out? Does she know of anyone in Gwangju who can foster the dog? Or perhaps she can arrange for boarding at the clinic itself? Of course the clinic where he's at would be in charge of screening before this could happen, though.

One good thing, I believe the info on the site says that the dog tested negative for heartworm!!! (my Korean is rusty to say the least, but I checked my dictionary).

It's true that he would need a rabies vaccination 30 days or more before flying. More info on exporting pets to the US is here: http://www.pettravel.com/immigration/UnitedStates.cfm

[Wiseguys]

Good News!! He is still there, and she has a foster home lined up! So, as long as he's distemper-free, we should be able to get this done (keeping fingers crossed). We're now just playing it cool and cooperating with the shelter (though she DID try bribery to try and get him released to her last night...didn't work). He's not available until the 4th, but she's going there often to check on him!

[Karen]

Aha! The 4th makes sense. I read that he got there on the 4th of October, so usually there is a 30 day period when the owner can come to retrieve their animal.

It's awesome that she can go in and check on him. He's a lucky one. Unfortunately that site had more than 10 pages of 16 dogs/page listed, plus a cat section :(

Please keep us posted on how it's going. All fingers are crossed here!

[Wiseguys]

I have a friend who's Korean (but living here in the US) and her uncle is part of an animal rights group there. Anyway, she said that after reading his description, it looks like the shelter's got rules on him that will make it very hard to adopt him to anyone. I don't read Korean and for some reason she's being very cryptic about it. She is a dog-lover herself (in fact we became friends when she adopted one of our fosters who now lives like a king in Vail, Colorado!)

Can anyone tell me what the verbage says that would make it difficult for anyone to adopt this dog?

[Wiseguys]

PS--he's heartworm and distemper negative!! YAY!!

PSS--I know I don't know you (and well, you don't know me) but I'd like to just say that it is WONDERFUL to have you to talk to about this! I run a dog rescue, but this has been one of the most emotional things I've ever tried to do! Thanks for being here!

One more thing!

Can I get permission to link to this site from my rescue website? After learning so much about the situation in Korea, I'd love to help spread the word!

[Karen]

Hi there,

I'm only guessing, but the shelter's rules might be in place to protect the dog specifically because of his size/colour combination which would might make him a desirable to dog meat traders. I've heard stories that some people will claim to be a lost dog's owner, or offer to adopt the free dogs, and then instead sell them to meat traders. One person's story who mentioned this is here: http://www.lonelylifetime.com/news/korea/locating-the-owner-of-a-lost-pet/ and KARA had something on their website about it but the translation makes it all sound especially sketchy: http://www.withanimal.net/tt-cgi/tt/site/ttboard.cgi?act=read&db=e_kara02&page=1&idx=5

The crypticness in your friend's (lack of) explanation might come from the fact that many Koreans are embarrassed by the dog meat trade. Westerners tend to go way way overboard and define/criticize the entire country and culture based on what (little) they know about this one (albeit violent) practice. So I would understand her reticence (again, I'm just guessing here). The IAKS site has 3 good articles about "the cultural argument" if you want to read more: http://www.koreananimals.org/info/culture.htm

Another reason for the difficulty in adopting him might be that the 30 day waiting period to find the dog's real owner is not up. Your Korean friend might be speaking about the difficulty of adopting him before that time.

My last guess would be that the shelter has never done an overseas adoption and/or has not screened an adopter in English before, so that is creating extra difficulty (of course that wouldn't be something mentioned right on the site).

I'm so happy to hear he's HW and distemper negative! That's awesome news. Be persistent and ask your Korean friend in America to help you communicate directly with the shelter (an email address was also listed at the bottom of their site, I believe) and I have faith that you can succeed.

I'm glad that this forum has been useful for you, thank you for the kind words. It's been nice chatting with someone closer to my timezone for a change, I'm always 13+ hours behind my friends in Korea :(

Please feel free to post links to this site, that would be super, we definitely need help spreading the word and words of support from other countries are always encouraging.

I checked out your rescue website and think you're doing just a fantastic job!!! Your compassionate policy on surrendering was impressive, I think you must have a really big heart.

My god this has turned out to be a massive post. Sorry!

[Wiseguys]

Well, we've had some clatification and some help from my friend's uncle (who works with KAPA). It seems that the difficulty is that the shelter expects to be reimbursed for the care since he got there. No biggie. Her uncle is working on adopting him because apparently men have a bit of higher standing there and she thinks he'll be more successful than my not-so-asian friend (who's also a girl). Anyway, things are still rolling along!!

(And thanks for looking at our website! We (my husband, foster parents, friends) give everything we have to helping these guys and are SO fortunate to be able to do so!)

[Karen]

That's good news, awesome that you have a Korean person who can help you out (sadly true that it's still often easier if the help comes from a man). Please keep us posted on your progress, I really want to hear a happy ending!

I just realized that there is no link to your website in this thread!

[Wiseguys]

My friend (the Canadian) has him!!! Her Korean friend helped her. YAY!! You cannot imagine what good news this is!! He's incredibly thin, but very very sweet, gentle, and good. He has a vet appointment tomorrow for a checkup!

[Karen]

OMG that's wonderful news! Lucky boy! I'm so happy!

What was the process like getting him out of the shelter? I mean, were there forms and fees, and was it successful only because the Korean person was helping? If it's feasible to adopt from this shelter I will add them to my list of where people can go to adopt pets.

I don't really know of many shelters in the southern part of the country and it's a bit ridiculous to send people living in Gwangju or further south all the way to Seoul or Daegu to adopt (which is what I was doing in the past).

Anyway, this is great news. I hope I can see a picture of him NOT in that miserable cage.

:)

[Wiseguys]

She had her Korean friend help, and unless I have the time zones messed up, they did it a day earlier than expected! I don't have all of the details yet, but I'll let you know!

I've been haunted by his photo and now am so happy. I wish we could do something to improve things for ALL animals over there. :(

[Karen]

Me too! :(

[cyrax]

*sigh*
Wiseguys, it's one less dog in the shelter. That's good news.