Helping Dogs Rescued from the South Korean Meat Trade

To look at one-year old Liam, an adorable Labrador retriever mix, you would be hard pressed to guess all that he’s been through in his short life.  Liam eyes every visitor to the dog room at the Adoption Center and barks to make sure he’s got your attention.  Liam is one of five dogs that we brought back from a Maryland rehabilitation center last month.  They were part of a group of approximately 120 dogs rescued from the South Korean Meat Trade that were being cared for by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

Second Chance has long partnered with the HSUS as an emergency placement partner and we are often called upon to help with cases like this.  South Korea is currently contemplating a dog meat ban and the farm where Liam and the other dogs came from is transitioning to growing cabbage and other crops through the Humane Society International/South Korea’s “Model for Change Program”. We are proud to work with the HSUS to give these dogs the best start at a new life.

All five dogs are doing amazing.  They’ve obviously been through a lot in their short lives, but the dogs have made great progress.  They were so shy when we first met them, and we have been in awe watching them get brave enough to explore our play yard and begin to come out of their shells.

Since they’ve never had the chance to be a dog, they will need patient families who can help with things like walking on leash who are ready to give them the great life they deserve. Liam is currently available for adoption. Jackson, Star and Buttons are still at the our Almost Home facility in North Brookfield where shelter pets entering Massachusetts complete their state-mandated 48-hour quarantine and receive any care they may need before they are ready for adoption.  They are just waiting for kennel space to open up at the adoption center so they too can find their forever homes.  The fifth pup is being fostered and we suspects he has already stolen his foster’s heart.

If  you are interested in adopting one of these special pups, you can find the available dogs’ bios on our adoptable dog page or come visit during adoption hours: Monday through Friday – 10am to 3pm, Thursday evenings from 5 to 7pm and Saturdays from 11am to 4pm.

Want to help more pets like Liam get their second chance?  Your donation can save lives! Thank you.

She lead the way across the open field heading back to the parking lot when I saw a man waving at me. He asked if he could say hi to my dog and we approached a couple on a morning walk.   “We just said good-bye to our dog of 15 years” he told me with that crack in his voice that I know all too well.  “I could see her looking at us and I just needed to say hi.”

“She’s not my dog. She lives at Second Chance Animal shelter,” I told the older couple that wanted to introduce themselves to my little black companion.  “They call her Socks, I call her Nelly or Nell.”  She approached the man and rose on her hind legs and gave him a hug. He smiled and laughed and hugged her back.   I told her down, she sat down in front of him.  I made a click sound with my mouth and she turned and came to me.  I gave her the hand cue to sit.  She sat.  I gave her the hand cue to lay down.  She did.  I told her to come up, she came up and got a treat.  “She has me trained well.” I smiled at them.

“She is such a good girl,” they said.  “She’s so smart,” they noticed.  She sat beside me as we spoke and then she approached the woman and startled her as she jumped up to give her a hug too.  She laughed and petted her and hugged her back.  “She is so sweet.”

“She’s a hugger,” I said, grinning.

I told them I take her out a couple times a week.  We discussed her life at the shelter and the training and conditioning we have been doing together.  They told me I was a good person for doing what I was doing.  What they did not know is that this girl has done as much for me as I have done for her.  Nell came into my life and into the shelter at a time when I needed her and I knew that she was going to need me.  And so, she became “my girl” from that day until the day she goes to her new home.

So, because of the amazing program at Second Chance called ‘Dogs Day Out’ this girl and I have spent so much time together these past few months. We have hiked a lot of miles in the summer heat, playing in the autumn leaves and walking briskly through the winter snow and wind.  I took a week off from work at the beginning of the fall and spent it with her and we hiked almost 50 miles in 6 days at about 10 different locations.  She is truly a great companion. She is a great friend.  She is a great dog.

I’ve been volunteering at SCAS for years now and every pup I have met is amazing in their own way. Some I only meet once and never see them again and some stay longer so I get to know them better. I get dogs, I just get them.  And now and again I meet one that just gets me.  And this girl gets me. You see, eventually I plan to work with dogs/animals full time; so behavior and training are things I am constantly studying and reading about. I’m always trying to develop my conditioning methods and skills so, finding a girl like Nell that is so intelligent and emotionally complex was like finding a real hidden gem.  A true diamond in the ruff!

I started this blog with the story about the couple mourning the passing of their beloved dog and wanting to say hi to Socks/Nell for a reason.  I tell that story because it is not the only time it happened.  There have been several times where someone asked if they could say hi to her.  Because she was looking at them like she wanted to say hi. And she walked over and hugged them, and they smile and laugh and embrace her and tear up and with that crack in their voice that tells me that they just lost their dog.   Coincidence? Maybe. Or does she just have a sense?  I don’t know but it has happened enough that it makes me wonder.

If I had the home and the yard that she needs and deserves she would be my girl forever.  There is no question about that.  But I have made a promise to her.  I promised her that with all my heart, the staff and I would find her the perfect people to take her home for good and give her the Second Chance that she deserves.

If my girl sound like the friend you are looking for come by and say hi and maybe we can all go for a hike.  Or maybe just stop in for a free hug.

Mike -long time SCAS volunteer