The following is part of a series of interviews with adopters about their rescue pups. This particular interview is with Kelsey about her dog Daisy whom she rescued a little over 5 months ago. Kelsey is doing well and likes to redecorate the house with her “chewing artwork”.
1. How did you find Free Korean Dogs?
My boyfriend and I decided that we were ready for a dog. This was just after the Olympics and all the light being shed on meat farm dogs in Korea. I googled “adopt Korean meat farm dogs’ and FKD came up on Petfinder.
2. What made you choose your pup?
I was looking through all the pictures and sending screen shots to my boyfriend of all the dogs. When I got to Daisy’s pictures I knew she was the one. I sent the pictures to my boyfriend hoping he would feel the same. His responses went from “okay” “cute” to “aww Daisy is such a cutie” and I knew that meant he liked her too.
3. What was the application process like for you?
I really wasn’t expected to hear anything back. I didn’t know how long she was on Petfinder and I thought there was no way she was still available, but we had to try. We applied late one night and the next morning I had an email from EK asking for a phone interview. I was in shock but SO happy. Then two days later we had the home visit. Our process went incredibly quickly because she was coming on a flight 4 days after our phone interview.
4. Tell me about the day you got your dog, how did you feel?
We were incredibly nervous and excited. I didn’t sleep the night before because I just wanted her to be here. We picked her up from the airport and she fell asleep on the drive to our home. When we got home we left her in her crate for a little bit to adjust. When we opened the door, she was very curious and went sniffing everywhere and then came up and licked my face. She cried because she needed to pee (she had no accident in her crate or our house). We took her outside and she was very sheepish and scared of the sounds but went to pee and poo after about 20 minutes and then started playing with leaves and pine cones. Her first night we tried to keep her in the kitchen but learned very quickly that she is an escape artist and can jump and maneuver over any obstacle no matter how high.
5. How was the first week?
Our first week went relatively smoothly. She had no accidents and didn’t destroy anything. It went much better then we would have imagined. She did like chewing on metal though because she was teething, but some bitter apple deterred her straight away.
6. What are some of the difficulties your pup has/had?
In the very beginning she was scared of everything. The elevator was the first challenge that we had to get through but after about a week she was a pro. In the beginning she was getting sick all the time and refusing to eat. She still goes on hunger strikes now and then but they never last long anymore.
Once she warmed up a bit she started getting very destructive. She ripped the back of our coach and chewed up half our headboard on our bed. For the most part she’s gotten better on that but no one’s glasses are safe yet! We’ve gone through multiple pairs. Every now and then I’ll hear her upstairs munching on the headboard but as soon as I say her name she stops.
Right now, we are dealing with a bit of separation anxiety, but we are working on it. And we’ve found it only happens when one of us goes away overnight. It’s not too much of a problem when we leave for work.
7. How long did it take your pup to adjust to life in Canada?
Daisy adjusted pretty quickly. Each new thing she sees she gets curious and a bit nervous but once we tell her it’s okay she is fine. She still won’t let strangers pet her on the head and backs away, but we are working on that!
8. What does your dog do that is hilarious? Favourite quirk?
She makes us laugh everyday! She does this thing where you think she’s yawning but then a scream comes out. That’s when you know she wants something because when she’s really yawning they are silent.
She also likes to bury her bones and kibble in our bed. Which is really gross but I can’t help but laugh.
When our alarms go off to wake us up we aren’t allowed to press snooze if she has anything to do with it. She’s licking our faces, chewing my hair, nibbling and pawing us.
She went through an awkward teenage phase of having a unibrow that was really the funniest thing ever (although it was pretty cute too!)
9. Did you rename your dog? What is the story behind the new name?
We kept her name as Daisy. Our original plan was to change it, but she knew her name so well that we decided against it.
10. If you could do it all over again, would you?
Absolutely! People told us we were crazy adopting our first dog together from a meat farm in Korea, but we got the best dog out of it and everyone loves her. I love what FKD is doing for these dogs and for us! She has added so much happiness and fulfilment to our lives. She’s perfect! And when it comes time to add a second, I would have no hesitations adopting from them again.
Interviewee: Kelsey Maclean
Interviwer: Tatiana Thompson
