It seems with just a blink of an eye, we’ve flipped our calendars to December and begin looking forward to the upcoming New Year. 12 months have gone by in a flash, but it’s been an eventful year for Free Korean Dogs and we have much to celebrate over.
250 dogs found their forever homes in Canada
The year 2019 brought over 250 (and counting!) rescued dogs from Korea to Canada, and into their forever families where they are now safe and loved. We cannot express how thankful we are to everyone who opened up their hearts and homes to give our rescues a second chance. Committing to adoption isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, but our adopters stood by them and loved them unconditionally. And while we know they won’t understand, we admire our dogs too, who have been through unimaginable experiences but still willingly trust and forgive. They have saved us as much as we saved them.
We are now a registered charity and adoption partner with Petsmart Charities
This year has marked many “firsts” for FKD, with the biggest milestone being granted charity status under the Canada Revenue Agency. As a registered charity, the designation has opened up many opportunities. We’ve been very fortunate with the opportunity to partner with Petsmart Charities, specifically with Petsmart Etobicoke to host our adoption events. Our partnership has helped over 50 dogs find their homes in only 7 months, and connected us with hundreds of potential adopters looking for their furry family member.
Freedom Walk
We also hosted our first annual Freedom Walk and Picnic, bringing over 100 participants and 60 furry friends together in High Park, Toronto where we walked in solidarity for dog meat farm survivors and to raise awareness for those who were not so lucky. With only 3 months of planning and promotion, we raised an impressive $15,000 towards the medical, health, and housing needs for our meat farm rescues still living in Korea. Getting to see our dogs again during the picnic highlighted exactly why we do this – to see those who survived horrendous fates now living happy and free.
FKD Summer Reunion
Having always prided ourselves in being a close-knit community of adopters, we finally turned our vision into a reality and hosted our first Summer Reunion. There was nothing better than to be able to meet our adopters in person, see how much our dogs have thrived, and hear all about their adoption journeys that made us laugh, cry, and laugh until we cried. It warmed our hearts so much we have active plans for consistent reunions, the most recent one being our indoor play date. As we continue to expand our FKD family, we look forward to continuing the tradition with future events.
Thank you
It is often said “it takes a village to rescue a dog”, and we can confidently say beyond a reasonable doubt no truer words have been said. There is nothing in the world that can express our gratitude towards our community. Thank you to our adopters, who consciously chose to take the rescue route; to our fosters who selflessly provide our dogs with a soft place to land while they wait for their forever families to find them; to our volunteers who always go out of their way to lend a helping hand; to our supporters who are always finding creative ways to advocate for us, whether through donations, donating needs for our events, or organizing fundraising events on our behalf; to our followers who share our cause and help spread awareness and education. Thank you to everyone for being a part of our “village”, and standing by us while we navigate this crazy world of dog rescue. We can’t wait to see what 2020 brings!
Written by Sara Liao, Board of Directors & Adoption Manager
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