Pup Spared from Dog Meat Trade Safe at Kent Animal Shelter

CALVERTON, NY — A dog saved from the Asian dog meat trade is safe at the Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton.

Dixie, one of several dogs sent from Thailand by the Soi Dog Foundation, arrived at JFK Airport on Saturday night, according to a release from Kent. When a call went out to help the Soi or “street dogs” of Thailand, Kent Animal Shelter stepped up, providing food, shelter veterinary care and love, until she finds her forever home.

“Our concern for pets in crisis knows no boundaries, and we’re going to help animals around the world in any way we can and change their lives forever,” said Pamela Green, Executive Director of the Kent Animal Shelter. “The inhumane practices of the dog meat trade in Asia are heinous, and it’s got to stop.”

According to Green, every year, tens of thousands of dogs are "inhumanely transported from Thailand to neighboring countries where they are butchered by cruel and barbaric methods for the dog meat trade. The conditions under which the dogs are transported and slaughtered are inhumane and many die from suffocation long before they reach neighboring countries. In reality these are the lucky ones," she said.

Soi Dog Foundation is a not-for- profit, legally registered charitable organization in Thailand, the United States, Australia, the UK, France, Canada and Holland that helps the homeless, neglected and abused dogs and cats of Asia, works to end the dog meat trade throughout the region, and responds to animal welfare disasters and emergencies, Green said.

According to the Soi Dog website, its mission is "to improve the welfare of dogs and cats in Asia, resulting in better lives for both the animal and human communities, to end animal cruelty, and to ultimately create a society without homeless animals."

The Soi Dog Foundation and the Thai government, Green said, "are actively working to end this appalling practice. In the meantime, these dogs are spared a horrific fate and transported to various locations where they are safe and have a chance to live a good life without the threat of torture and death."

Photo courtesy of Kent Animal Shelter.