Animal Hell

In our 10 months here, Gilad and I have continued to see the value South Korea places upon the lives of animals and this past weekend after a trip to the pet store, my frustrations are no longer able to be contained.

As most know we adopted two dogs from a shelter that was closing. The woman who had this "shelter" (it is really just a greenhouse) kept all the dogs, cared for all the dogs, and paid for all the expenses out of her own pocket (with the help of volunteers too). This is not a government run shelter as in Korea I'm not sure if there is such a thing, besides the 10 day kill shelters. Yes, that is the best deal you can get. A shelter that will keep the animals for a whole 10 days before they euthinize them. One can only wonder why there are hoards of homeless animals on the streets with a deal like that. When we found the puppy in the mountains we had absolutely no alternative but to bring it home. What is the point of saving a dog only to have it be killed a few days later? It is not just the large amount of homeless animals that is disturbing but also just the general treatment and idea behind what an animal life is worth. Pets here are treated like toys. Buy one now, get tired of it, get rid of it. Or, buy a cute little baby and dress it up so it looks like a doll. Whatever happened to a dog being a dog? Why must it resemble some fantasy creature?

Gilad and I were looking for collars for our dogs and so this past weekend we strolled into a few pet stores, and we became sick at the sight. There were tons of animals stuck is small cages and filthy living conditions. Huge dogs living in a space so small they cannot stand or turn around. Or how about the puppies so young that they couldn't even walk yet. They had no mother with them to help them, so rather they were just dragging themselves with their front legs leaving their back legs limply following along. Then there was the tiny kitten who barely knew how to clean itself (a natural instinct) sitting with a tin can of food that could easily cut it while eating.

Sorry if the sound of all this is depressing, but no joke, this is something you see here daily. It is absolutely depressing because the mistreatment comes in such a huge quantity that it leaves you feeling hopeless. There is help out there, mostly coming from foreigners or native volunteers, however it is not nearly enough.

Dawna