- Melody Chalaban
If you were to drive from the southern region of South Korea to the northern part of the country, it would take approximately 5 hours.
Our rescuer, Kim, has driven this.
To rescue a pug.
Countless times.
That’s like driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Or, from Richmond VA to New York City.
Kim drives all over the country to pick up unwanted pugs and shuttling them from one foster home to another and one veterinary clinic to another. She works a day job from 9am to 6pm, and she uses the remaining 15 hours in the day to drive the country rescuing pugs. Driving late into the early morning hours and on the weekends, Kim stops at rest stops to sleep. There are weekends when she’s doing this all day and into the night.
Pugs in cars....some getting coffee...
Why such late night driving?
When an owner wants to give up their dog, they want it out of the house immediately.
Once she finds an available dog on the online sales lists, Kim will call the owner, who will say, with urgency, “Can you pick up the dog tonight?” Kim, with the same urgency, then has to drive there that night or a breeder will land the dog instead. She makes the long trip hoping the dog will still be available and that she doesn’t get ghosted.
We have limited resources. But, we do have a wonderful foster coordinator, Mel, in Korea who has helped tremendously in placing dogs with foster families, creating a sort of PRK Foster Network. Without her and this network, we would not be able to save as many pugs’ lives as we have.
Despite this, Kim still handles 99% of the vet visits, meaning she herself will drive to the foster family (most are 3-4 hours from her apartment) to pick up the pug for their vet visit.
Dog rescuer to the bone
We speak to Kim nearly every day and never does she complain about these long drives. It’s like she knows this is her duty in her life. She doesn’t just accept it, but she embraces it. She truly embodies the life of a dog rescuer.
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