PINE GROVE TOWNSHIP -- Humane Society International is working to close all dog meat farms in South Korea. This month it was able to close a sixth, rescuing 200 dogs and now, two of those dogs have been sent to an animal shelter in Schuylkill County.
Juliet is a 1-year-old Jin Du dog, recently placed at the Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA near Pine Grove. She cowers in the corner, not just because this is a new environment for her but because of what she has been through.
She was kept at a dog meat farm in South Korea. She was bred to have pups, kept in a kennel, and was waiting to be slaughtered along with hundreds of other dogs.
"These are some of the most egregious situations of cruelty that you can imagine," said Kristen Tullo, Humane Society U.S. "They are in filthy, cramped, overcrowded cages."
Humane Society International was able to rescue Juliet and nearly 200 other dogs after it shut down a dog meat farm in Wonju, South Korea.
"One of the most heartwarming parts of this job is being to see the impacts we are making in the lives of so many animals," said Tullo.
The dogs were flown to animal shelters in the United States, Canada, and the other parts of the U.K.
Juliet was taken in by Bridget Barder with the Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA. She also took in a puppy named Cinnamon.
"Cinnamon is very backward. Not that Juliet isn't but she, she is adapting a little bit better," said Barder.
Bridget hopes to help both dogs learn how to be dogs -- how to be walked, how to interact with humans, and more importantly, how to trust them.
"I am fostering Cinnamon. I have a volunteer fostering Juliet. It is going to take time, but once they are ready to be adopted, we are going to take applications and pick out the best home that suits their needs."
This SPCA hopes to take in more dogs from South Korea like Juliet and Cinnamon as the Humane Society works with groups in South Korea to close more dog meat farms.