This week, the South Korean parliament passed a bill to phase out the dog meat trade by 2027, which presents a monumental victory for animal rights groups that have worked to end this barbaric trade. Humane Society International began campaigning to end the dog meat trade in South Korea in 2015, and director of international media Wendy Higgins was there from the start. She writes for Wunderdog about what this week’s announcement means to her   There are so many different emotions I feel about the dog meat industry in South Korea. Disgust and sadness, obviously. I’ve been to factory farms ..read more

Hate to brag, but Wunderdog really knows dog rescue organisations inside out. We’ve featured them on our covers, on our pages and on our website. So, when we recommend donating to these amazing charities, you can do so with confidence. Credit cards at the ready!   Wild at Heart Foundation Our issue 1 cover star may have stopped adopting out dogs for the time being, but the London-based charity continues to support more than a dozen global dog rescues and projects, including in India, Mexico, Romania and South Korea. With sterilisation programmes and education at its heart, the foundation ..read more

Black dogs tend to spend longer in animal rescue centres than their lighter-coloured canine friends. In the age of social media, could it be that black dogs don’t always stand out on their profile pictures – and pictures is all we see before considering their personality? I took it upon myself to trawl the websites on some trusted charities to find black dogs ready for their forever homes. Adopt them all! (The dog on the picture above is Cola – scroll to the end for her details.) Clara   Clara is an active, clever Shepherd cross and is currently enjoying taking part in agility in her fo ..read more

Seven beagles born and used in an animal testing facility in Spain, this week, got to leave their cages forever and taste freedom.   Beagle Freedom Project UK (BFP UK) had successfully negotiated the release of the beagles from the facility only a few days earlier. The dogs were held by BFP partners in a sanctuary in Spain, where vets health-checked the dogs and prepared them for their freedom ride. A designated transporter drove them to The Retreat, an animal sanctuary in Kent, where the dogs felt grass under their feet for the first time.   BFP’s Sam Kester carries the first beagle ..read more

Meet Kirsten of Save a Dog Romania (above: Donna in a shelter last year. She has just been adopted) Kirsten Rasmussen Frangogiannis lives in Bucharest and runs Save a Dog Romania, which supports Romanian shelters and helps rehoming their rescued cats and dogs to loving families in Germany. Wunderdog wanted to find out more Please explain first of all what Save a Dog Romania does. We offer help and support to local rescuers in their efforts to control the stray dog and cat population in their neighbourhood. We try to assist them where we can in either the rescue, medical rehabilitation and or t ..read more

Spanish filmmaker Yeray Lopez set a milestone with his documentary, Yo Galgo!, about his country’s hunting dogs. Despite how much there is to protest about, Yeray sought to present a balanced picture. Wunderdog speaks to him about what he saw and what life is like for the charities rescuing the galgos Do you sometimes look at your dog and wonder “what if you hadn’t ended up with me?” Yeray Lopez did too. When, in 2013, he got his galgo Bacalao from a galguero (hunter), the filmmaker from Madrid had little knowledge of the hunting culture in Spain’s vast rural swathes. Neither did he know much ..read more

Five Circles just celebrated its first year as a registered charity, but its founders already have decades of experience between them and have saved thousands of dogs. The trustees’ experience ensures their adopters – in the UK and in Spain – have unparalleled lifetime backup. Founding trustee Victoria Vazquez explains the stray dog situation in Spain and how her charity works The UK is a perfect place for dog lovers. Dogs are seen as members of the family and so much effort is made to treat them as such. Take a trip to Spain and you will soon come across dogs wandering the street abandon ..read more

Can rescue dogs become therapy dogs? You bet they can! Meet one owner who has successfully enrolled her four rescue dogs in the Pets as Therapy programme. Susie Kearley reports from Norfolk Hannah Colbourn from Norwich, England, is the proud owner of four Pets As Therapy (PAT) dogs: Peggy, Todd, Benji and Olive. They are all rescue animals, who work in the Norfolk area, visiting preschools, schools, a university, and a nursing home.  Let’s meet the dogs. The Fab FourTodd Greyhound Todd was Hannah’s first therapy dog, adopted six years ago. He was a retired racer who’d come from the local ..read more

Buying a dog is a transaction, but adopting a rescue dog is an adventure like no other. It’s an adventure fuelled by love. And while it may not always be straight forward, adopting a dog is one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have.  Wunderdog advocates adoption, because the pros so very much outweigh the cons. Saving the life of a dog is already reason enough to adopt a dog. And if you are hesitant because you see scare stories online, ask yourself this: would any newspaper print the headline “Person adopts dog, and they live happily”? Probably not. So, listen to those who ..read more

Running a small animal rescue charity in a country with poor animal welfare records can be gruelling. Balancing the day-to-day rescue work of scooping up injured cats and dogs from the streets, dealing with surrendered pets, running spay/neuter clinics, and facilitating rehoming may be the obvious work – but add to that fundraising, dealing with local hostilities towards your work, natural disaster, or political sea change… anything from a leaking roof to a global pandemic has the potential to bankrupt a small charity. Most of these teams run their charities day to day with little or no financ ..read more