Heartwarming Video Shows Dogs Rescued From Meat Slaughterhouse Receiving Care

A heartwarming video shows dozens of dogs that were saved from being delivered to a dog meat slaughterhouse receiving care and treatment following their terrifying ordeal.

Last week, animal campaigners involved with the Dog Meat Free Indonesia coalition rescued more than 50 dogs on the island of Java after police intercepted a truck that had just arrived at the illegal slaughterhouse.

The dogs—most of which are stolen pets—had arrived at the slaughterhouse in Java’s central Sukoharjo Regency following a grueling 10-hour journey crammed together in the back of the truck.

According to animal rights group Humane Society International (HSI), which forms part of the coalition, many of the dogs were emaciated when they were found. They were tied up in sacks, while some had their mouths tightly bound together.

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HSI said the dogs were in desperate need of veterinary medical attention, food and rehabilitation. Unfortunately, one of the dogs had passed away during the long journey to the slaughterhouse.

Animal campaigners took the surviving dogs to a temporary shelter run by Dog Meat Free Indonesia in the city of Bogor, located in the west of Java. There, they are being nursed back to health and receiving treatment for their wounds.

Lola Webber from Humane Society International was among the first on the scene when the dogs were rescued and is now working to help the canines.

Webber said in a statement: “Many of the dogs were extremely emaciated and dehydrated and required IV fluids. Some of them also had wounds around their muzzles where their mouths had been tied shut, and others had really painfully deep neck wounds, likely where they had been snared by dog thieves. We are also treating them for various skin diseases.”

She said a number of the dogs are already “bouncing back,” playing with toys and resting. But others are still too traumatized to even eat. For these dogs, the road to recovery will be longer. “We are giving them all the time and love they need to heal,” Webber said.

The coalition will try and reunite them with their owners where possible, although the chances of success are likely to be slim.

The coalition hopes that some of the dogs will be adopted locally while others will be flown to HSI’s temporary shelter in Canada, where efforts will be made to re-house the canines.

“We will issue local appeals to see if any of the dogs can be reunited with their families, but we know that these dogs will likely have been stolen many, many miles away,” Webber said. “So we will also look for loving and secure adoption families amongst Indonesia’s dog-loving community.”

“The vast majority of people across Indonesia don’t eat dogs, so these pups will have many prospective adopters coming forward.”