CoCo was rescued from a "Dog Meat Farm" in 2010 & now has a loving home!

Every dog is a story. In South Korea, millions of dogs are subjected to the most unimaginable agony until their last breath, at grim and squalid dog meat farms and meat markets—the very bowels of existence—with their pitiless smell of human injustice and cruelty. They come to sorrow in these hellish places, imprisoned in filthy and desolate cages, where puppies are usually separated from their mothers, all awaiting their fate. According to a persistent and mystifying belief, the greater the terror and pain a dog experiences while dying—the more he suffers—the more intense the boost in adrenaline in the flesh for a tastier meat, as well as a real boon for a man’s virility. A life snuffed out. Everyday cruelties perpetrated casually and without remorse.

As every dog is a story, every rescue is a story—jubilation-bringing rescues that are rays of light in a realm of darkness.

Happy Angels Dog Rescue, in Los Angeles, California, not only rescues dogs from high-kill shelters and off the streets of L.A., but also funds, transports, and places dogs from South Korea. Working with various South Korean animal organizations, including IDA’s partner Coexistence for Animal Rights on Earth (CARE) and Young-Jin Kwon of the newly formed People Defending Animals, dogs are saved from dog meat slaughterhouses, dog meat farms, restaurants that serve dog meat, S. Korean shelters, and individual abuse cases. Because many South Korean dog lovers clamor for purebreds, especially puppies, adult dogs of mixed breeds find it much more difficult to find homes there. After rescue, the South Korean organizations foster and assist in the transportation of the dogs.

Founded in June, 2008, by Stephanie Jeong, Happy Angels has transported about 150 S. Korean dogs to be placed in permanent homes in Los Angeles. The following stories highlight an odyssey of unremittingly bleak lives, and miraculous endings.

Click ‘Read More’ to read these amazing and heartwarming stories!

Click Here to learn more about what IDA is doing to help animals in live markets in Korea.

Please click here for more info and to donate.

Koa is loved in his new home.

KOA
Koa (formerly Ku-Won) was born and raised on a dog farm that breeds and sells dogs for their meat in Po-Chon, S. Korea. At only two months old, another dog attacked him in his cage, which resulted in the amputation of a leg. Ku-Won could no longer be sold as “healthy” dog meat, so in June of 2008 the dog farmer voluntarily turned the ‘damaged goods’ over to CARE. Happy Angels raised enough money for Ku-Won’s flight to L.A., where he received immediate special attention and much-needed re-amputation surgery. Because of his disability, he was seen as unadoptable in S. Korea. Ku-Won healed and was adopted by a loving family in Orange County who call him Koa. He now lives blissfully on three legs.

Charlie in his new life.

CHARLIE
Charlie (formerly Chun-Ha) was rescued from South Korea just before somebody was preparing to eat him. Fortunately, a passerby witnessed Chun-Ha being tortured. A man was forcefully putting him in a pot of boiling water. After convincing the man to stop what he was doing, Chun-Ha was rescued by CARE. After all he’d been through, he was expected to be fearful and traumatized, but Chun-Ha possesses the spirit of a lion; he is brave of heart, happy, energetic, and loves being held. He excels at playing fetch. Still carrying a permanent scar that covers more than 50 percent of his back from being scolded with boiling water, Chun-Ha may possibly have been torched as well. He was about one when he endured his nightmarish torture and, for five years following his rescue, he never found a home in South Korea because, being scarred, he was seen as unadoptable. Chun-Ha was transported to Los Angeles on June 13th, 2008, and was adopted to a family that delights in outdoor activities with their Charlie.

ToTo

TOTO and COCO

CARE rescued Toto and Coco, formerly Sae-Byok, from a meat farm in 2010. It was believed they were siblings since they are similar in age and in appearance. Toto and Coco flew to L.A. in search of finding their forever homes. Coco was adopted through Happy Angels Dog Rescue in September, 2010. Toto is still searching for his family.

Kong-Tok

KONG-TOK
CARE rescued Kong-Tok, along with 18 other dogs, from a meat farm in In-Cheon, S. Korea, in October, 2006. She was only about six months at the time. She flew to Los Angeles in November, 2010, hoping to find a loving family. She is a very outgoing and affectionate girl who will blossom if she is the only dog in the home.

Click here for additional photos of Toto and Kong-Tok.

Hye-Sook Kim, a pug rescuer in S. Korea, has rescued about 50 Pugs and Happy Angels transported them to L.A., and found homes for all of them.

Semmy is a lover.

SEMMY

A newly rescued Cocker Spaniel, Semmy, was saved from a dog meat restaurant in the outskirts of Seoul. She was tied outside on a very short chain, and beaten frequently by the restaurant owners. She was rescued just before she was to be killed. She flew into L.A. on Sept 24th, 2011, and is currently available for adoption. She is estimated to be a year old and is pure joy. She is being fostered in Fullerton, CA.

Alex

ALEX

Alex, a Miniature Dachshund, was abandoned at a gas station in Dong-Hae City, S. Korea. His original family left him there in the middle of the night and fled the scene. A gas station employee found him in the morning and brought him to Dong-Hae City Shelter. He is about five to six years old and is a very charming fellow. He flew into L.A. on Sept 3rd, 2011.  He is available for adoption and is currently being fostered in Marina del Rey, CA.

Click here for more information.

South Korean Dog and Cat Campaign

IDA’s South Korean Dog and Cat Campaign, in concert with our partners Coexistence for Animal Rights on Earth (CARE) and Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA), is working to rid South Korea of the old way of thinking—the myths and prejudices about dogs (companion and edible) and cats (reviled) and their monstrous consequences, as well as the hollow and contradictory laws regarding dog meat and the officials who unashamedly sanction them. Our hope is to inspire thinking anew, a deepening of consciousness about the anguish and cruelty that animals suffer daily through undercover investigations, lawsuits, protests, outreach, and reform proposals to establish the illegitimacy of dog meat. As Bertrand Russell said,” Moral progress has consisted in the main of protest against cruel customs, and of attempts to enlarge human sympathy.”

Please replace your profile pictures with the Virtual Demo "Sign"

Tuesday, August 16th, is the International Day of Action for South Korean Dogs and Cats, when activists around the world speak out against the suffering and terrible fate of the two million dogs and cats killed every year in South Korea for consumption.

Mostly homeless dogs are strangled, beaten to death, or literally ripped apart. Others are bred on dog farms in deplorable conditions, crammed together in tiny cages, awaiting their gruesome deaths. Cats are subjected to their own torment by being bludgeoned and then boiled alive in “medicinal” stews.

This year, everyone can help the dogs and cats, no matter where you live, by participating in a virtual demonstration on Facebook and Twitter. It’s easy to do and a fantastic way to spread the word that it’s time to stop these indefensible atrocities perpetrated against the dogs and cats of S. Korea.

Please support South Korean animal-protection organizations in urging the South Korean government to strengthen its existing laws to illegalize the killing of companion animals and not openly sanction the illicit and shadowy world of the dog and cat industry.

Here’s how it works:

Facebook Instructions – Speak up for these Dogs & Cats in 2 easy steps!

1. Make sure you have your protest “Sign“. All you have to do is right click on the “South Korean Dog” image and choose “Save” to get this “sign”. Replace your profile photo to your “sign” and keep it up all week.

2. On Tuesday August 16th, post a link to this Action Alert that will allow you send an email to the Korean Government  letting them know that you are appalled and shocked to learn about the rampant cruelties inflicted upon animals that have been documented in South Korea’s live food markets. Then throughout the day encourage your friends to also send an email and join our efforts by changing their profile photo too!

Twitter Instructions:

1. Make sure you have your protest “sign“. All you have to do is right click on the “South Korean Dog” image and choose “Save” to get this “sign”. Replace your profile photo to your “sign” and keep it up all week.

2. On Tuesday August 16th, Tweet a link to this Action Alert that will allow you send an email to the Korean Government  letting them know that you are appalled and shocked to learn about the rampant cruelties inflicted upon animals that have been documented in South Korea’s live food markets. Then throughout the day tweet friendly reminders to encourage your friends to also tweet the link, send an email and join our efforts by changing their profile photo too! By including the following 3 Hastags (#) you can also encourage other animal activists outside your current followers to also join our efforts! Just paste one of 3 Hastags into your tweet – remember to not put spaces between the words and to include the #  :

• #DogsandCatsMatter
• #FriendsNOTFood
• #HelpTheseDogsandCats

One of the best things about your Online demos is that you can run them all day – Rain or Shine! But remember Messages, Statuses and Tweets that include profanity or can be interpreted as “abusive” may result in your profile being reported and/or deleted by Twitter and Facebook. IDA is not reasonable for any Messages, Statuses or Tweets sent or action that results. Please also keep in mind that the advocates in South Korea helping these animals are also South Korean – so please avoid language or comments that could be interpreted as hateful or even racist towards all South Koreans and Asians.

To find out how you can animals year round – CLICK HERE to sign up at IDA’s Action Center!

The Hope Animal Sanctuary (IDA-HAS) Team has spent the past two months zealously rescuing and caring for abused and abandoned animals in our region.  Celeste, a precious horse for whom the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department solicited help, was unbelievably emaciated when we brought her home.  Her keepers readily surrendered her to our custody when they realized the seriousness of our joint effort.

A Grenada breeder sought out HAS for help placing six poodles last summer.  The breeder said she and her family were no longer breeding.  Her husband was very ill and her adult sons who lived at home were both unable to care for the dogs.  One son suffered a terminal condition and the other Down syndrome.  Her sister feared she might have become a hoarder, as it had been five years since she’d been invited into the home.

The breeder called again and asked that we place ten dogs for her, and that she’d like help with the remaining ten when she was able to get her ailing family use to the idea of letting go of their way of life.  But before the woman called again her husband had died and she was admitted to the hospital.  Another son outside the home stepped in to aid his brothers and discovered there were 23 poodles stored in small cages, 2 to 3 in each, suffering in their own filth.

Dr. Abernethy, affectionately dubbed “Doc,” assisted HAS. The team removed the 23 dogs and immediately transported them to Veterinary Associates to be examined.  Sadly, eight suffered extreme conditions: rotting teeth that caused fistulas into the sinus cavity, advanced tumors, congestive heart failure, seizures, and some were blind.  The Mississippi Animals Rescue League (MARL), in Clinton, Miss., and Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP), in Houston, Tex., aided with placing the 15 dogs, who, it was decided, would not be placed in the Grenada area.  An inquiry from someone close to the family was worried that the dogs might be returned to the woman.

During the recent flooding in the region, there was concern that the Mississippi River might displace hundreds of families, prompting IDA-HAS to establish a temporary emergency shelter.  A businessman in Grenada offered one of his warehouses for use for the effort.  The shelter was readied in conjunction with the Grenada EOC and the Mississippi Animals Response Team (MART), a program overseen by the state veterinarian.  Because the animals IDA-HAS received were surrendered for placement it wasn’t necessary to utilize the off-site temporary shelter.  Some of the surrendered animals joined the poodles who went with CAP, and the Bolivar County Humane Society (BCHS) helped place five—it also opened a relief shelter. Cookie, one of the surrendered dogs, came home to IDA-Has after her treatment for heartworms.

When the public learned IDA-HAS was readying to aid animals displaced by the flood, some thoughtless or perhaps desperate people abandoned dogs and cats in front of and on the road to the sanctuary.  A mother cat and her kittens were taped inside a box with only two small holes and left on the office porch in the heat.

On May 16th & 22nd, the IDA-HAS Team rescued 13 dogs and 4 cats from utter misery.  The dogs ranged from thin to gaunt, all the adults suffered heartworms, and the five pups succumbed to Parvo.  Louie remains hospitalized with pneumonia and Molly is under observation for symptoms of Parvo—it was her pups who died.  Angel shares an enclosure with her beagle pals and two young dogs.  She’s enchanted with Kali, our 9-year-old neighbor, who comes to help nearly every day.  Matt and Eleanor are slowly recovering.  Eleanor was just released from hospital care today.  It’s simply a miracle that Eleanor is doing as well as she is.  She was the first of the dogs rescued.  She lay on a section of insulation on the edge of a burn pile in front of the dilapidated house the IDA-HAS Team at first mistook for an abandoned building.  The investigation is not over and other animals may be rescued.

Yesterday, Doll Stanley, director of IDA-HAS, and Sarah Thomas, a veterinary student, a Veterinary Associate vet tech, and IDA-HAS team member, traveled to Carthage, Miss., to learn how IDA-HAS might aid a man who independently cares for 78 animals.  From there they went to St. Anne’s Church to see which dogs IDA-HAS might be able to transport for friend and rescuer, Sister Pat.  Then it was on to TAILS, a humane organization, to see if it might foster pups for transport and to see which dogs IDA-HAS could assist. The final stop of the day was emotionally draining.  IDA-HAS had requested help from “Animal Planet”’s hoarder program for a woman who initially began taking in animals when she and a local group worked together.  The good, but failed, intentions of the group, made worse by a rivalry with a member who broke away and abandoned as many as 40 dogs on her perceived adversary, set the stage for a truly challenging hoarding case.  “Animal Planet” established initial dates to film.  The dates were moved up, then postponed, and then the telling statement was made that because the husband of the “hoarder” wasn’t at odds with his wife, the case might not fit the criteria for the program.
The enormity and complexity of this case will require a concerted effort of groups and teams trained with the resources to humanely remove and aid what surely are 80-100 dogs who are not enclosed and are mostly shy or feral.

Stay tuned for more updates from the field!

Please support our work!

Catalina Bison

With great ardor, Bill Dyer, IDA’s Southern California Coordinator, has been fighting for the rights of one species or another every day of his life or so it seems. There have been the feral cats, dogs, goats, abused captive elephants, and whales, among so many others, and the American bison, specifically the ones on Catalina Island, 23 miles west off the coast of Los Angeles. In 2003, when the Catalina Island Conservancy, which controls more than 90 percent of the island, wanted to reduce the non-native bison population—the clock ticking infallibly—Bill, in one of the more thrilling rescues of his storied career, raised the funds to relocate 103 bison to three Native-American tribal lands in South Dakota, where they would live freely. Bill choreographed that inspired odyssey with Catalina resident Debbie Avellana, and the conservancy.

For several years IDA has been vigorously engaged in finding humane solutions to resolve the complex twin issues of animal overpopulation and of non-native species by promoting the replacement of lethal means of population control—typically used by city and governmental agencies—with non-lethal contraceptive programs. In 1994, IDA blocked a plan that would have allowed the bow hunting of Tule Elk at Pt. Reyes National Seashore, in Northern California, and, instead, triumphantly instituted a contraceptive operation. After IDA’s discussions with the conservancy about the inestimable benefits of contraception over relocation of the bison, the day finally arrived in the form of a high-tech miracle that IDA enthusiastically champions: partnering with the Catalina Island Conservancy’s contraception program that would no longer require the bison to be killed or experience the profound stress of relocation from their present habitat. IDA is contributing to the five-year, $200,000 plan, where females older than two years are injected with an annual immune-contraceptive vaccine that works by creating antibodies that attach themselves onto eggs, blocking fertilization, marking the first application of the vaccine on a wild bison herd.

Bison getting vaccine

“We want the animals to be free,” says Bill, but considering the conservancy’s resolve to reduce the herd’s numbers, contraception “is the next best thing.”

Carlos De la Rosa, the conservancy’s chief conservation and education officer, says most of the females already are pregnant, but that the inoculation won’t cause any harm to them or their babies. And it won’t create changes in their behavior with their male admirers because it is not a hormonal vaccine. “It’s kind of like love without consequences,” de la Rosa says. The process can be reversed by not administering the shot to certain bison in subsequent years, which means reproduction is still an opportunity.

The permanent residents as well as the eco-tourists on the dreamlike island are subject to preternatural delight when alighting upon the thick-furred, shaggy species. Some islanders missed them so much when they were shipped to South Dakota that they traveled to see them. Avalon’s Debbie Avellana, who staunchly resisted earlier efforts to rid the island of non-native goats and pigs, first suggested the use of contraception on the bison. “I’m so happy. Our bison don’t have to be shipped out or killed,” she says, “and they will have more to eat.”

The goal of the program is to decrease the herd to a healthier, less environmentally damaging 150 to 200 bison, a number that is manageable for the conservancy as it seeks to protect the island’s sensitive ecosystems while ensuring the health of its buffalo herd. “We really are trying to find that balance between protection of the environment, restoration of the environment, and the social and cultural values we believe are so important to our lives,” says Ann Muscat, the conservancy’s president and chief executive officer. “And keeping the bison here is something our board found is important to the community.”

Bill Dyer says the birth control plan has advantages over corralling the bison for a ride to the mainland. “The expense of it, and the stress it puts on them,” he said, “all of that is over now.”

If there is a belief that pulses throughout IDA and its passionate membership, it is that the bison deserve to be protected on their “dream space,” as Saul Bellow once called it, from the consequences of bad politics.

The process

Grady, a Mastiff mix, spent months in the Winona Animal Shelter, in Winona, Mississippi, a prisoner of a five-run outdoor facility, with one barrel in each run and constantly running water, leaving him and the rest of his kennel mates always cold and wet—a purgatory for captive dogs. He had mange, a bacterial infection, and was undernourished. Doll Stanley had seen the miserable dog on a number of occasions, but there was no room for him at the Project Hope sanctuary, and she had to stay focused on getting the mothers and puppies out so the puppies wouldn’t die. And, finally, the day came when she was able to take Grady, and then immediately boarded him at Veterinary Associates in Grenada, where the staff fell in love with him and revivified his physical state and spirit to the point where he was able to go the sanctuary. “Rescue takes time. Unlike ‘Animal Planet,’ there are months of rehab, expenses, and the search for a home worthy of them.”

After Doll started to work with the City Council in Winona, the newspaper editor founded a humane society of which she will be president and is raising money for the new shelter. In the meantime, before there is a more humane facility, Doll does the best she can to help out. In the last year, she saved dozens of dogs from that wretched place. The animal control officer, Charlie Brown—who possesses the heart and, unfortunately, bad luck of the legendary cartoon character—is required to pick up animals all over the area and he doesn’t want to kill them so Project Hope steps in. Grady is one of the chosen.

Doll called me and asked if I knew anyone who might want this well-balanced and handsome prince of a dog, with his now shiny, thick, dark brindle coat. Everyone who asked about him down South wanted to put him on a chain and make him a guard dog. One man wanted to chain him on a property he didn’t even live on to keep coyotes and burglars away. Doll says it so commonplace. “Every animal is unique. There are different circumstances. When you have chosen to help them, you go the extra mile.” And that meant Grady moving elsewhere.

An ad on Any Dog Rescue’s site led to interest from Judy Appel and Alison Bernstein, residents of Berkeley, California, who were attracted to Grady’s noble look and heart-seizing story. Until recently, the couple lived with Sharpie, a Pit Bull mix, who died a few months ago, and were ready to save another life. Plans happened quickly: Continental Airlines was selected as Grady’s ride in the sky because it boasts the best safety record—the airlines moves 110,000 animals per year, and 80 percent go though Houston, which is the connecting flight from New Orleans, Grady’s departure point. Houston operates 14 dedicated PetSafe vans with staffing/runners who specifically bid those shifts because they are animal-besotted and want to make sure everything is perfect for their guests. It is all they do—pick up, drop off, care the animals. Doll drove Grady the six hours from Project Hope to New Orleans (he pouted a little on the way—all the animals pout a little leaving Doll), where he boarded the plane for Houston, connected for his flight to San Francisco, and arrived a little after 8 PM, exhausted and groggy.  Judy and Alison brought their two kids, son Kobi, eleven, and daughter Talia, eight, for the big homecoming. Grady needed a little coaxing to emerge from his crate—the cargo facility at SFO didn’t look like the South anymore, and suddenly in the grip of a thrilling and wild elsewhere, he walked out to the rapturous joy of the family and a huge gushing of oohs and aahs. Within a few days of his arrival, he’s been to all the best East Bay parks. He’s also fallen for the kids’ stuffed animals and is particularly enamored of a gray elephant. He’s been sleeping on a bed downstairs where he can sprawl out just because he can.

Nine elephants who survived the grim and punishing assaults of being forcibly captured from the wild and then endured the harrowing training methods for elephant back safaris at a Zimbabwe ranch—with its sickening smell of human injustice, along with chains, severe deprivation, and torturous taming methods—were rescued in an elation-bringing moment by the Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals (ZNSPCA) and have now been released into Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Fully recovered from injuries incurred during the breaking and training process, radio collars for tracking reveals the elephants are now forming new bonds as a herd, and socializing well with one another in the intricately unified and sophisticated world of elephant social groups.

IDA, along with other animal organizations, is providing funding support for this miraculous effort. With its long and successful history of working strenuously on behalf of these gregarious and highly intelligent beings in the U.S. and abroad, IDA dedicates itself to the protection of their habitats and supporting the banning of future capture of wild elephants in Zimbabwe and elsewhere. The nine elephants are now being looked upon as the ambassadors for the Zimbabwe elephants in the wild, and IDA is committed to the worthy efforts of ZNSPCA in its championing of these elephants, from their terrible wounds and scars through their jubilant new freedom and beyond.

Click here to see pictures from the dramatic rescue and release, and go here to see what you can do to support IDA’s elephant campaigns.

Gigi and Family

Mike Massucco and Trese Biagini are drawn to the abused, scarred, ill, and old—a mosaic of the not loved enough. Outcasts all. The tan and white Pit Bull puppy with the white blaze on her forehead and stockings on her short front legs was found walking along a highway and didn’t fit the usual bill. With her good looks, coquettish smile, and her tail-wagging, fervor-for-life character, Gigi was nearly perfect.

After I pulled her from the local humane society through the marvelous Any Dog Rescue group, the pup found accommodations at IDA office headquarters, where she earned the saucy name of Gigi. IDA Founder and president Elliot Katz took her to his home in the evenings. And then Leather Leone, former rock singer, now vet tech at the Sausalito Animal Hospital, and guardian of the delightful Pit Bull Franca, sent word that Mike and Trese were looking for a young dog.

I drove Gigi to the meet the couple. Mike was waiting outside of his San Francisco home, sitting beside a big bear of a black dog, a blind Chow called Wally, and a three-legged Pit Bull named Peg. They explained how their brood began with a blue budgie flying into Mike’s home office through a sliding glass door. They tried to locate the budgie’s family and, after a time, named the little bird Lila and got him a companion, Sponge Babette, along with a larger cage. And then the dogs started coming…

The couple’s first adoptions were a one-eyed, broken-jawed Chow with a shaven face, and the other, an older Rottie, whose abdomen was hanging, which turned out to be liver cancer. Mike approached the Rottie, who was in an outdoor kennel, and who like all Rotties, was a leaner, and as she sat on his foot and leaned against his leg—the subtle things one notices immediately—that was all it took. He called her Lucy. Inside the cement indoor chain link kennels, the one-eyed Chow was sitting quietly. He was on the euthanasia list. Decision made. Mike and Trese called him Wally, and Lucy and Wally were adopted that day.

Within a few months, Lucy had lost her mobility, so Mike purchased a wagon, a Radio Flyer, and built an umbrella stand so she could sit in the shade. “I was the only one at Fort Funston with a dog in a wagon and its own umbrella stand attached to it.” On one of his trips to Fort Funston, he ran into an older, emaciated, mange-ridden dog, alone, with a note attached asking someone to take her. She was a Blue Healer. Because of Lucy’s condition, he couldn’t take the stray home so he drove her to Animal Care & Control. When Lucy died a few months later, in her honor, Mike and Trese returned to adopt Betty, the Blue Healer, who was about ten years of age, afflicted with Cushings Disease. But they couldn’t leave with just one dog. Housed with Betty was a three-legged Pit Bull who was dumped after a man having an argument with his girlfriend stomped on her leg, which then had to be amputated. Mike and Trese called her Peg and the two girls were adopted together. With the beloved Betty now gone, and despite robust health, Gigi was taken in and will share the comfy house, dog beds everywhere, with Wally, Peg, Lila, Sponge Babette, and Pako the parrot, who arrived less than a year ago. Pako needed a home—he had bit someone. And now the bird who bites sits on Mike’s shoulder as he walks around the garden in the morning. Pako also joins Mike and the three dogs in the car when they pick up Trese after work—Pako standing atop Mike’s shoulder. Trese’s car is now referred to as the ark, and Mike and Trese, the guardians of the home of the jettisoned.

The striking image by Sanaga-Yong volunteer Monica Szczupider that first appeared in the November, 2009, issue of National Geographic captures exquisitely the personal and ideal sharing of the fate among nonhumans brought together by a common purpose and who form extraordinary bonds of friendship. The photo subsequently appeared on “Inside edition,” “ABC News,” the New York Post, London Telegraph, the Daily Mail, and a variety of other newspapers and Web sites around the world.

The writer Susan Sontag in On photography wrote that “photographs do not explain; they acknowledge.” When looking at the photo, one immediately feels the magnitude and closeness of the family of chimpanzees and seeing their view of things. In all the marvel of their chimpanzee nature and sophisticated minds, our closest genetic kin possess their own dialects, cultures, they teach their young, use tools, and are self-aware, conscious of themselves and their futures. And as evident in the photo, they feel sorrow and mourn the deaths of loved ones.

Orphaned by a hunter who killed her mother, Dorothy was sold as a “mascot” to an amusement park-hotel, where she was chained by her neck.  Somewhere between 25 and 40 dark years, she endured the endless mocking and jeering of visitors to the park, as she was taught to drink beer and beg for cigarettes to the great delight of onlookers. People laughed mercilessly at Dorothy, but no one came near enough to touch her. She was labeled vicious by the hotel staff. Once at the sanctuary, she made fast friends with many of the chimpanzees, even experiencing mother love by adopting a baby orphan named Bouboule, whom she adored until the end of her life. Dorothy and Nama, another amusement part refugee and soul mate, lived in alpha male Jacky’s group of 27 chimpanzees. Dorothy was at the center of it all—a beloved mother figure to many of the younger chimpanzees—a luminous presence everyone at Sanaga-Yong felt like a nimbus.

When Dorothy passed away, on September 22, 2008, from what appeared to be heart failure, Dr. Speede said “many people from the villages, including the high chief of our seven villages, came to pay their respects. No one seemed to wonder for a second whether a funeral service was appropriate for a chimpanzee. They walked to the camp from their villages after learning of Dorothy’s death, without being invited.

“We buried Dorothy beside the enclosure where she lived and beside the tomb of her friend Becky. All the chimpanzees in her family came to watch and mourn with us. When we brought her to the gravesite, they asked to see her again, so I took her body close for them to see her a final time. None of them left until the burial was finished.”