Woman Sees 2 Puppies Being Sold At Worst Market And Knows She Has To Save Them
âChance clung onto me so tight and nestled his head right in as if he knew his life depended on it" â€
Last month, Suzi Lee, Sian Davies and Helen Kim visited Moran Market in South Korea, on a grim mission â they wanted to see if dog meat was being sold there.
Vendors at Moran Market typically slaughter and sell about 80,000 dogs each year, but the women had recently heard reports that the dog meat market had ended there. Unfortunately, the reports turned out to be false, and Lee, Davies and Kim encountered many vendors selling dog meat, as well as live dogs in cages awaiting to be slaughtered. While the dogs werenât being butchered in open view, the women heard dogs crying out in pain and fear as they were killed in nearby locations.
Much to the womenâs dismay, they were unable to help most of the caged dogs they saw.
âThey belonged to the butchers, and they wouldn't let us have them,â Lee, cofounder of Passion for Compassion (PFC), an organization that rescues dogs from the South Korean meat trade, told The Dodo. âThey were cursing at us to leave and not to take any pictures.â
As they were about to leave the market, Lee spotted two 3-month-old Korean Jindo puppies poking their heads out of a cantaloupe box. The puppies belonged to an elderly man, and he was about to sell them to one of the meat vendors. Lee alerted Davies and Kim.
âWhen I saw the puppies, my initial emotion was that of horror, as well as desperation and an overwhelming panic that we would not be able to save them,â Davies, who cofounded PFC with Lee, told The Dodo. âEach time you walk away from these dogs, knowing what fate lies in front of them, it breaks your heart. Their faces are embedded in your mind forever, and you carry it with you always. So yes, I was feeling utter and complete panic ⊠to the point of losing my breath.â
Lee and Kim tried to talk to the man to see if heâd release the puppies to them. But then the butcher who was about to take the puppies himself stepped in. He aimed a hose at the women and sprayed them. Lee decided to get tactical.
âI told the seller [the elderly man] that the butcher is really rude and he was disrespecting him in front of us,â Lee said. âThey got into a heavy argument. Korean culture is full of respect, and itâs especially important for elderly men. So I just made a little trouble between them.â
With the butcher in the ownerâs bad graces, the women talked to the man again about releasing the puppies, whom they named Chance and Destiny. As they spoke with him, Davies grabbed onto Chance and bundled him into her arms, and Lee held onto Destiny.
âChance clung onto me so tight and nestled his head right in as if he knew his life depended on it,â Davies wrote in a Facebook post after the incident. âDestiny was so fearful but seemed to calm as Suzi Lee held her.â
Eventually, they convinced the man to give Chance and Destiny to them. Then they hurried the puppies to safety at PFCâs new dog sanctuary in Namyangju-si, South Korea.
âThey were covered in ticks,â Davies said. âYou donât really see how bad it was in the photos, but there was so many. Lots in the ears and in the eyes, in between their toes and all over their bodies. We didnât realize how many there were until we started to bathe them. These dogs live in horrific conditions.â
Despite everything theyâd been through, the puppies were in relatively good health, although they were underweight and had to be treated for worms. They also really needed a bath.
âThey were dirty and smelled like trash, which is typical of dog meat dogs as they feed them garbage â disgusting rotting food full of maggots,â Davies said.
But with love, care and lots of attention, the puppies have slowly come out of their shells.
âThey love people and playing and cuddles, just like normal puppies,â Davies said. âWe are most certainly looking for great homes for these beautiful puppies.â