While investigating the conditions at Moran Market, an infamous dog-meat market in Seoul, we came across Kodol-yi. He was alone in a rusty cage, looked to be about two to three months old, and wasn’t in a good condition. He couldn’t stand on the mesh floor of the cage without his legs slipping through, so he was sitting in his food bowl, and looked utterly miserable.
We couldn’t ignore his plight, and so we rescued and brought him to the head office.
Kodol-yi was initially fostered by a member of CARE Korea staff. She let him roam around her apartment and play as a puppy should. Kodol-yi explored his new environment, chewed slippers, and became more active. He ate heartily and quickly, and fell asleep feeling safe and happy in his blankets.
On the second day, however, he had bad diarrhea. He could not move much or eat. He also seemed to be in a lot of pain. The following morning at the vet, it was discovered that he was infected with both the Parvovirus and the Coronavirus.
These are common problems with dogs who have been kept in unsanitary conditions, and who come into contact with infected feces. This is a perfect description of all dog meat farms we have encountered. Both are life-threatening diseases in themselves. Luckily, our staff member knew exactly what to do.
Almost immediately after he recovered, he found his new family. It often takes much longer to get adopted, but perhaps it was the fact that he was a puppy that melted the adopter’s heart.
