Last year we had one of our biggest successes to date with our first rescue flight of 28 dogs arriving in November, 10 of whom were going to be settling in Vancouver Canada, while the other 18 were heading out to Calgary.
Read MoreAnimal activists intercepted a dog meat truck with 147 dogs. Local law enforcement were engaged to maintain public safety as the crowd grew when angry animal advocates showed up. Tension grew by the hour. The standoff lasted three days, but the outrage lasted years. That was just the beginning. The action and subsequent fight for justice has led to the biggest landmark case and court ruling against the sale of dog and cat meat in China and those who trade in it.
Amid a major Covid-19 shut down and mandatory testing by the government, a WOA volunteer named Buyi got a call from a concerned woman. Four sick and old dogs in her village would be sold to a dog meat trader that day.
Read More800 Dogs Left Alone on Gobi Desert To Die
When Huajian, the founder of Wall Foundation, heard about 800 dogs captured by a government pound were left alone to die in the Gobi Desert, Huajian and her 700 supporters went ballistic. The group reached a consensus and unanimously decided that, no matter how hard it would be, they would take on the challenge to care for these 800 dogs.
Read MoreThey held her back as she pushed forward, screaming with tears streaming from her ashen face as she tried to enter the inferno to save more of her precious animals. Shiao He was on the verge of losing her mind from sheer grief and exhaustion.
2020 began with a bang and kept on banging.
The lockdown in Wuhan during Chinese New Year, left thousands of animals abandoned due to people traveling to family homes for the holiday and unable to return. 40,000 animals were locked in homes with no one to care for them. Kind people shoved food and water under doors. Some were reclaimed, most were not.
So many had arrived sick or injured.
Our rapid-fire, emergency response to Grandpa’s and Lijie’s shelters left us in a triage situation. These dogs, saved from the death sentence of imminent government impoundment and very poor living conditions, were introduced to an upgrade in living conditions.
Fondly known as “Grandpa”
He is a quiet man, more so now since his stroke. He has been taking in strays most of his adult life. He never let a dog go hungry. That is how he came to care for over 120 dogs.
He never let a human go hungry, either.
You may know that WOA works with existing partner operators in China to shelter animals from homelessness and the dog meat trade. What you may not know is that animal rescues across China are, by necessity, underground and hidden from the public arena.
Read MoreINNER MONGOLIA, CHINA
There is an ancient, timeless quality to the land where Ruiyun’s shelter is built. It's a sweeping landscape, a big sky country where herds of horses once roamed the grasslands. The expanse of it gives you a sense of freedom rarely seen in the overcrowded cities of the rest of China.
Bejing, China
In One Moment
It was such an ordinary day much like all the days before that one. Shunjie woke up that morning, rushed to feed the dogs their usual meal, made sure they were set up for the day, and dashed to her scooter to get it warmed up for travel….
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