About
June 7, 2011
I started this website as a personal blog in 2006 while working as an English teacher in Daejeon. I began simply by sharing stories and photos of a caged Jindo I wanted to help.As I began researching animal welfare, the links section grew and I hoped my site could become both an informational resource and a meeting point for like-minded people. After hearing from dozens of animal lovers and rescuers across Korea and abroad, I added forums.
In 2007, I moved back to Canada but remained determined to help an ever-growing network of people continue their animal rescue work.
It evolved from a blog into a truly community-drive site. In 2007/8 the blog became a forum at AnimalRescueKorea.org. When discussions shifted to Facebook, I switched to software better able to handle adoption listings in 2011. In all, the site was active from 2006 to 2014.
The community built directories of animal shelters, vet clinics, pet travel and pet care links and wrote articles full of advice and personal experiences helping animals. The community recruited volunteers to help at Korean shelters and organized fundraisers for homeless animals as well as for Korean rescues and shelters in need of supplies. The community promoted cats, dogs, hamsters, rabbits and other animals in need of homes in the adoption listings.
In its 8 years, ARK grew to over 3,500 members who helped over 2,000 animals find homes.
Managing the site from so far away got harder over time. It became increasingly difficult to stay in touch with the needs of rescuers in Korea and the Facebook group took on a life of its own, so I retired the website in 2014. I have no doubt that many great things have come along to fill the gap since then.
The archive here preserves a small piece of the work of the animal rescue community whose love and devotion continues to inspire me.
Sincere thanks for visiting,
Karen B.
