A Non-Sheltered Life: Helping You

Help Dogs and Cats in Korea

By: Ryan Goessl | Nov. 08, 2008

I have always been surrounded by animals. I grew up on a farm, and learned firsthand how to treat and to respect all animals. I learned how to train dogs and cats, as I have always trained my own animals.

I got involved in animal rescue and welfare formally about five years ago while living in Los Angeles. From there, I have always been involved in rescue and welfare, from helping with adoption, fostering and wellbeing, to providing advice and help for anyone with questions regarding pets.

As for getting involved with the shelters and rescuing in Korea, I came to Korea to take a little break from being stateside. While here, I found a dog on the side of the road in Gumi, where I lived, that was thrown out as a baby puppy, and I rescued it.

After this, I was searching the internet and found Karen Busch and Annie Savageau, who had both just started working with a shelter in Daejeon (the Daejeon Shelter). I started attending and helping regularly. A while after moving to Seoul, and continuing to help at the Daejeon Shelter, we found the Samsong Shelter, and began helping there also. And that is now where I am.

The Daejeon Shelter is a shelter originally of 220 dogs that was found by a girl named Karen in the summer of 2007. Through continued help and the efforts of volunteers and adopters, especially within the foreign community, the number has been cut to 72 dogs as of November 1, 2008. However, the Daejeon dogs are being required to move, due to zoning and lease issues, even though there has been a great effort to reduce the number of dogs. Therefore, we are moving the dogs to the Samsong Shelter, which currently houses 230 dogs and 20 cats. This shelter is also being evicted from their current land, so we are moving the two shelters to new land in Yangju. This will be done sometime during this month, and we are always looking for help and donations.

Currently, we are in preparations of moving both the Samsong Shelter (230 dogs/20 cats) and Daejeon Shelter (74 dogs) to new land. Unfortunately, both shelters are being forced off their current land due to a number of reasons, including new zoning restrictions, harassment from neighbors, and, at Samsong, the recent shady deaths of a few dogs.

We are moving the Daejeon dogs to the Samsong Shelter, and relocating them to land in Yangju. This land is larger than both of the current shelters (about 1,300 Pyeong). There are, with the exception of one factory, no neighbors to worry about in terms of noise complaints. We will be moving the dogs sometime around the middle of November, however, we have not selected an exact date.

Anyone wishing to help in any way, either before the move or after can contact either myself at: 010-9006-8655, or Tim at: tim.vasudeva@gmail.com. We take volunteers, adopters, and foster families every Saturday morning to the Daejeon Shelter, and every Sunday to the Samsong Shelter (North of Seoul).

If you would like to help out in other ways, but are unable to attend a Shelter Visit, we also accept donations. The cost of moving the dogs to the new land, and building the new shelter is estimated around 20-25 million won ($20-$25,000). Just contact Tim or myself to find out how you can get involved.

For more information, including lists of adoptable animals, and most any pet related question, including information about the shelters, please visit: www.animalrescuekorea.org, or their Facebook group.