NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Three dogs rescued from a Korean meat farm are starting over in Newport News.
The dogs named Nell, Rosemary and Charlotte arrived at the Peninsula SPCA last night. While they have not been in the country long, their time here has already been filled with a lot of firsts.
"They are very shy, very unaccustomed to being even inside a building or human contact," said Ellen Thacker, Executive Director of the Peninsula SPCA. "We can tell that they are really not used to spending a lot of time with people. Especially people approaching them in a kind gentle way."
The dogs don't even know how to walk on a leash, but they know that they are safe. According to Thacker, the dog meat farmer who owned the three girls has decided to change his business. Instead of giving them to another dog farm, he contacted the International Humane Society, who the Newport News shelter partners with.
"Dog meat consumption is really a cultural norm in Korea," explained Thacker. "Someone explained it to me, that if folks from countries that feel cows are sacred came here, they would be liberating cows from our farms. It is kind of the same mind set."
While the long trip across the world is over for the three dogs, their journey to finding their forever home is just beginning. Thacker says they are taking things slow and want potential adopters to know that the dogs may need a little more love and attention than other dogs.
"I think the key is to give them time to get acclimated. They seem to be lovely dogs, very sweet."
Even though Charlotte, Rosemary and Nell have a long way to go, shelter staff says they are already making major progress and have no doubt that they will continue to make strides when they find their forever homes.
