A man from Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam spent VND24 million (US$1,027) rescuing 31 dogs from a slaughterhouse and is now looking for their owners.
The man, 46-year-old Do Minh Khoi from Nha Trang City, which is the provincial capital, shared the story to his Facebook page on Wednesday.
According to Khoi’s account, his two dogs were stolen while he was on a business trip in Hanoi, prompting him and his son to scour dozens of slaughterhouses between Nha Trang City and Dien Khanh District, also in Khanh Hoa Province, to find their beloved pets.
On Wednesday morning, Khoi arrived at a facility in Dien Khanh and saw dozens of dogs locked in cages, ready to be slaughtered.
He wound up buying all of them from the abattoir in order to save them.
“Many of the dogs were exhausted and lying still, while some were sticking their paws out as if they were asking me to save them,” Khoi recalled.
The man said he paid a total of VND20 million ($856) to buy the dogs and another VND4 million ($171) to transport them to his home in Nha Trang.
Khoi later posted the story on Facebook in the hope of finding each dog’s owner.
As of Thursday, two people had been reunited with their pets thanks to Khoi.
“Seeing the dogs wagging their tails when they saw their owners made me really happy,” Khoi said.
Ha Thuy Tram, 28, from Khanh Hoa’s Cam Lam District, said she lost her dog several days earlier.
Tram’s family had raised the dog for two years before it was stolen. They searched several dog meat shops and slaughterhouses in the locality after the canine disappeared.
“I discovered that my dog had been rescued after seeing Khoi’s status on Facebook, so I decided to travel all the way to Nha Trang to get my pet,” Tram said.
“I wanted to give Khoi some money to thank him for saving my dog, but he refused it.”
Khoi plans to keep the rescued canines at his home for about seven days so that their owners can come and take them home, afterward he will take the remaining dogs to a local animal rescue shelter.
“People who wish to find their lost dogs can come to my house at 30D Dong Nai Street in Phuoc Hai Ward, Nha Trang City, or call 0909473361,” Khoi said.
As of Thursday, Khoi and his family have yet to find their own lost pets.
Emaciated Dog Now ‘Picture of Health’ After Foster Carer Helps Him Recover
It may be hard to watch this viral video that shows the harsh reality of animal neglect. Harold was skin and bone when he was found wandering the streets in North Oshawa in Ontario, Canada. But now is thriving and just like any other puppy—thanks to his foster carer.
Kayleigh McGovern, a volunteer and team member at Oshawa Animal Services, decided to look after the emaciated dog who was too weak to even walk back in July. She documented his progress and shared a slideshow of images on her TikTok page.
Kathy Pittman-Feltham, the shelter manager told Newsweek: “Harold quickly captured all of our hearts and we were rooting for him to get healthy and find his forever home.”
In the viral video that has 791,800 views, @kayleigh_mcgovern added on-screen text to explain each image. She stated he spent the first three days in bed and he didn’t have the strength to empty his bladder.
She wrote: “We shared many cuddles, watched lots of shows, and most importantly he got lots of rest.”
One image shows Harold’s skeletal body as the on-screen text explains: “This picture is still so jarring to look at. He was examined at the vet for possible causes of his emaciation. The vets concluded the only thing wrong with him was that he was essentially starving to death.”
After a few days of tender love and care, Harold started to feel stronger and became playful. Now four months on, he is just like any other puppy.
Pittman-Feltham told Newsweek: “Kayleigh helped nurse him back to health and he was then adopted by a member of the community who is a second-time adopter from us.
“He is doing phenomenal and is the perfect picture of health.”
Harold’s remarkable transformation has touched the hearts of thousands of TikTok users. But sadly, his situation wasn’t a rare case.
Each year 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.
Pittman-Feltham told Newsweek: “We see many sad cases come through our doors and the team is always excited to be a part of the next chapter in their story as most times we don’t have any information on their past.
“We are hoping Harold’s story shines a light on the many cases across the rescue world that need our help.
“Fostering saves lives and Harold is a perfect example of that!“
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