A Florida rescue group coordinated a rescue mission to save dogs from the South Korean meat market.
Golden Retriever Rescue of Southwest Florida brought three Golden Retrievers across the Pacific Ocean to be checked by veterinarians at Angel Animal Hospital in Naples, Fla.
The dogs had a long journey, flying from South Korea to San Francisco to Newark and then to Tampa, where Mark Dahlberg and other volunteers drove them to the Naples animal hospital.
South Korean pounds have a lot of overcrowding, which is bad news for large dog breeds like Golden Retrievers. They wind up sold to meat farmers.
"If somebody had not stepped up over there to pull them from the pound, they would've been euthanized," said Dahlberg.
Instead the dogs were checked out by vets at the hospital. They were pleasantly surprised the dogs were in such good shape.
"They both look pretty good considering they came in a rescue situation," said Jennifer Frione, a vet at Angel Animal Hospital. "It's really rewarding to see them turn around after treating them and giving them a little tender, love and care," she added.
The main hurdle the group had to overcome to complete their rescue mission is the airfare. It generally runs the group about $1,200 to fly in the dogs. The group is driven to help Golden Retrievers both overseas and in Fort Myers.
"On average, we rescue 100 dogs a year," said Dahlberg. "The dogs from South Korea are just a small portion of that," he added.
The group has another dog ready to be rescued from South Korea. Mia will be rescue number 40 for the agency.
