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.”

"Sign" for the Virtual Demo - Just Right Click in the image and Choose Save. Then you can repost this image anywhere.

Every year approximately TWO MILLION dogs are inhumanely caged, tortured and used for food in South Korea! The dogs are crammed like vegetables into crates. When a customer makes a selection, the dogs are roughly yanked from the cage and intentionally abused before being slaughtered for the sale.

In Defense of Animal’s partner in South Korea recently shut down a dog meat farm in the Gyeonggi Province. While this is a huge victory for the dogs of South Korea, more must be done.

This practice of killing and eating dogs is not because of some long-standing cultural tradition. In fact, most Koreans find the cruelty and killing appalling. Yet it continues because it is backed by government indifference and because profit-driven industry forces aggressively promote the superstition that the more the dog suffered in his death, the more virility a man will experience when he eats the flesh.

Please join IDA and our Korean colleagues by participating in The International Day of Action! There are demonstrations happening all over the world but don’t worry if there isn’t one in your area. This year we are also having a “virtual demonstration”!

It is very easy to take part in the “virtual demonstration” – just change your profile photo on your Facebook or Twitter pages to our “Sign” (provided in this blog entry) and post this petition to the South Korean Embassy in your status line or tweet it to your friends! By encouraging your friends and followers to sign this petition – you’ll be urging the Korean government to strengthen and enforce animal protection laws so that these cruelties can be brought to an end! So even if you can’t be outside an embassy next Tuesday – you can still let those decision makers inside the embassy know you care about how these dogs are treated and you want them to do something about it!

IDA’s South Korean partners, Coexistence for Animal Rights on Earth, (CARE) recently received information about a remote dog meat “farm” in Gyeonggi Province. When CARE activists visited the facility, they discovered an appalling scene. Dogs were living in miserable conditions in feces-laden, cramped, ramshackle cages. These neglected dogs were filthy- some suffering from severe injuries.

The conditions were so horrible; these brave activists simply couldn’t leave without the dogs. At the risk of arrest and personal injury, they rescued the dogs, bringing them to CARE’s animal shelter to be treated, cleaned and, most likely, loved for the first time. You can see the images of the dramatic rescue here .

Some in South Korea believe that the more the dog suffers during death, the more virility a man will obtain from eating his or her flesh. Dogs are tortured to death in shocking and unimaginable ways because of this horrible, antiquated superstition. Not only do these dogs endure loneliness and squalor during their short lives, their deaths are inconceivably cruel.

Most South Koreans consider dogs to be companion animals. Only a small minority eat them. We want to support those South Koreans who advocate that animals deserve compassion, love and respect; that they are sentient beings and not mere commodities to be bought, sold and slaughtered.

Please help IDA draw international attention to this issue by participating in our International Day of Action for South Korean Dogs on Tuesday, July 6, 2010. Dozens of cities around the world will host outreach events to educate their communities about this important issue. Activists will pass out leaflets and hold signs outside South Korean Embassies and Consulates around the globe, drawing world attention to the dogs of South Korea. Find out if your city is hosting an event here.

This year’s Day of Action includes cities in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Bolivia, South Africa, India and of course, South Korea. Let’s support the courageous South Korean activists who battle to free these dogs by raising our voices around the world on July 6!

According to experts, the elephant calves may be too young to endure the cruel trauma of capture, separation from their mothers, and the 7,000-mile trip to North Korea. If they do survive, they almost certainly will not be held in conditions that meet their physical and psychological needs, ensuring a lifetime of suffering and a premature death. Other wild animals involved in the transfer are not expected to fare any better, compounding this unnecessary tragedy.

Elephants’ profound social bonds make separation of calves from their mothers highly traumatic for the baby and remaining family members, causing enormous suffering. In the wild, elephant mothers fiercely protect their young, whom they nurse until they are four years old. Calves never stray far from their mothers, and they enjoy the nurturing attention of other females in the family who help care for and rear them. Female offspring remain with their mothers for life.

IDA is a signatory, along with conservation groups, elephant experts, animal protection groups and biologists around the world, in support of a letter sent by world-renowned elephant authority and ElephantVoices co-director Dr. Joyce Poole to Zimbabwean leaders. In it she states:

“We urge you not to underestimate the impact on world opinion of the distressing sounds and imagery of elephant calves and juveniles being forcibly separated from their families, captured and then undergoing inhumane taming and training methods, and a lifetime of captivity in a country that is not known for its adherence to international standards and norms. These practices are totally unacceptable for an enlightened public and continuation is bound to lead to public petitions, campaigns, and increased negative publicity for Zimbabwe.”

Please help stop Zimbabwe from transferring these elephant calves and other wildlife to North Korea by writing a polite letter to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, urging him to do the right thing and cancel the sale. Tell him that you strongly oppose the export of baby elephants and other wildlife from their natural habitats, and urge him to show that Zimbabwe truly cares about preserving and protecting its wildlife heritage by halting the sale. Respectfully let him know that the world is watching.

To contact Prime Minister Tsvangirai, please:

1. Go to the website www.zimbabweprimeminister.org

2. On the horizontal menu near the top of the page, click on “Contacts” at the far right.

3. Send an email to the Prime Minister.