It has only been two weeks since Soomin joined our family. During that time, he has adjusted perfectly into his new family life. His mannerism, playfulness and cuteness; every single aspect of him fits into our lives so perfectly, like a puzzle. We love our Soomin so much and he has shown us so much love in return. In only two weeks, we have also met so many neighbours and friends through Soomin. We are really thankful for having Soomin in our lives.
Growing up in South Korea, I saw too many abandoned dogs. Some of the fortunate dogs were adopted by nice families; however, I was all too aware of the sad fates that awaited the dogs that weren’t as lucky. My dream always was to build a nice family with an amazing guy and a lovable dog. After I got married, one of the things I wanted to achieve with my husband was to rescue a dog. Because of my heritage, adopting a dog from South Korea just made sense.
We applied for a Jindo dog previously at Free Korean Dogs. We were disappointed at first when we learned that someone else had clicked the apply button right before us, but we understood quickly that they were going to a good home. Despite the setback, we didn’t stop looking for another Jindo. We continued to look at all the latest pictures and videos to get to know all the rescues from Free Korean Dogs.
I still remember the night when my husband ran to me and said, “We found our dream puppy!”
When I saw the first picture of Soomin, I fell in love with him immediately. I could actually picture my husband and I going for nice long walks with him. We immediately pressed the apply button, and when we got the callback, we couldn’t believe it. We were little scared, as Soomin was arriving on a flight only a few days later, but we took on the challenge and got our house prepared for the new arrival in only a few short days.
The night before Soomin was supposed to arrive, we were having a party with friends to celebrate his upcoming arrival. That’s when we got the call from EK. Due to a miscommunication with the airline, Soomin wouldn’t be arriving until the following week. We were devastated. We hadn’t realized just how excited we were for his arrival. Fortunately, it gave us another week to prepare ourselves to be puppy parents and stock up on the rest of the dog owner essentials.
When the time came to meet Soomin at the airport, we were so excited and nervous. I know from experience how long the flight from Korea to Toronto is, and I could not stop thinking about how Soomin would be feeling when upon arrival. When Soomin and the other dogs finally came out at the arrival hall, we were all very emotional & excited. We were also glad that Soomin had some travel buddies.
In the past week, his wonderful personality has started to shine. Within the first day, he started to become comfortable with his new environment, and in the next few days, he completely settled in and became a part of our family. Since his arrival, both Soomin and us have made so many friends (both people and dogs) in the neighbourhood. Soomin has been a super star in our building, as everyone loves him. Most people are stunned to learn that he has only been in Canada for two weeks. His calm personality does not match the stereotypical image of a rescue dog. He’s such a cheerful and silly dog, and each day we learn to love him even more.
We hope that in the future more people will make the decision to adopt dogs. Every dog is different, and each one has a unique personality and deserves to be loved. Our experience has showed us that having a dog in your life allows you to appreciate it even more. Thank you Free Korean Dogs!
Written by Shawna Lee
I just loved reading these stories <3