I’ve recently been asked why I allow Taiwan dogs to be adopted overseas. Am I not contributing to the problems in other countries? A very valid question that at one time held a very black and white answer for me. Then it began to conflict me as the gray areas clouded my judgment. After living and working all over SE Asia for 15 years, where street dogs can be a real problem and shelter standards and resources are far below anything most would consider acceptable, I began to question my own authority. Fifteen years ago, when I started working with animals in Thailand and Cambodia, my answer would have been a resounding, “NO! We are not sending Asia’s problems to the USA. For every dog we send there, we condemn an American dog to death.” But a lot has changed in those 15 years, especially in countries like the USA, Canada, France, and Holland. Thus, so did my perspective. 

I’m an American. I have volunteered for many shelters in the USA. And I’ve worked several disasters which have flooded certain shelters beyond repair so let’s focus on the USA here. A lot has changed since Hurricane Katrina turned the world’s eyes on USA shelters and the way we keep our animals. In the 1980s, when I adopted my first rescue dog, The USA euthanized more than 20 million unwanted dogs and cats a year. That number has since dropped to just about 1.6 million nationwide, of those, 670,000 are dogs, and those dogs are usually the ones with severe behavioral problems, considered unadoptable. This means there is a shortage of very adoptable dogs in many of the shelters.

Adoptions in the USA have increased by more than 56% in the past 5 years. It’s trendy to adopt in America, And the “dog pounds” of the past are now much more like educational community centers with dogs; dogs that need rehabilitation, which is where Zach Stow’s Marley’s Mutts prison programs come in. They educate the youth and they work hard to match shelter dogs with behavioral issues with tough prisoners and train the prisoners to become professional dog trainers. The program is wildly successful. Muttville specializes in hard to adopt elderly dogs with their Seniors for Seniors programs, adopting out over 1000 senior dogs a year. And the Taiwanese organizations Mary’s Doggies and Ahan specialize in placing Taiwan’s unwanted street dogs into good homes in California, a state that has virtually outlawed puppy mills and pet shop dog sales. In fact, California is the dog adoption Capital of the west. We have three PACK dogs living in lovely homes in the bay area now. 

But before I committed to really start focussing on overseas adoptions I wanted to make sure I knew what I was talking about. So I attended the Humane Society’s Animal Sheltering conference in New Orleans in May 2019 and met with and spoke with at least 30 global shelter representatives. I then went on an east coast and west coast shelter tour. I was shocked to learn that there are shelters all over the USA that are in fact starving for animals. 90% of the shelters I visited were drastically under-dogged, some with just 30-70 dogs and rows of empty runs and kennels - a good thing, right? 

“Not if you want to stay in business,” says Gloria of Buddy Dog Humane Society, Mass. To my surprise, the more populated shelters of the southern states are now transporting hard to place pit bulls to northern shelters that are struggling to stay open. And even more shockingly, I learned that some shelters in the USA and the UK are actually actively breeding dogs to stay in business. Okay, what?

“Hello,” I said into the microphone from the back of the room at the Animal Sheltering conference, “I have 300 Asian dogs in desperate need of good homes. They’ve been pining away in a makeshift shelter in a cobra infested jungle for 5-8 years. No one wants them here.” Sherri Franklin, CEO of Muttville, replied from the podium, “let’s talk.” Several organizations offered to work with me that week but only a few I felt were of the quality that met my own high standards of placement. Before our dogs go overseas, not only do they undergo training and foster home care, but I must know there is a pre-qualified adopter waiting. We have too much invested in these dogs. 

And the sad fact is, many of our dogs don’t belong in Taiwan, to begin with. Irresponsible breeding is out of control here. There are over 220,000 dogs bred in Taiwan a year, literally making it almost impossible to adopt dogs here. We have Mastiffs, Danes, Border Collies, Huskies, German Shepherds, and other cool and dry climate dogs. They don’t fair well in Taiwan. They develop serious allergies and skin infections from the tropical weather. These and the many 3-legged dogs (the misfits) are the dogs I wanted to focus on first because, well, if anyone knows what it’s like to be a misfit or a mutt, it’s us Americans.

As is these reasons were not enough for me to reconsider my viewpoint, we still have some Taiwanese who adopt dogs for the dinner table. Yep, you heard me right. It’s not prevalent but it still happens. On March 15, 2018 ETToday reported 14 dogs were adopted and cooked up for din din. Petsmao News reported a similar story just weeks later with 18 dogs winding up in a butcher shop. 

This is why our adoption policy is very very strict in Taiwan. We vet our adopters very carefully and do frequent home-checks. We actively educate the public at pet expos and in classrooms and we do adopt locally when we can but the new government no-kill laws with zero plans for sterilization have created another problem far worse than I could have imagined. The reality is, Taiwan has more than 39,000 dogs and cats crammed into 60 or more shelters and the majority of the human population is still fixated on designer bred dogs for sale in pet shops. Huskies, Shibas, and Corgis are big right now. And we rescue them from bad homes. But we can adopt those out here in a day. The local dogs and mixed breeds pine away in the shelter for years. Over time, they literally lose their minds and either become feral or exhibit psychological stereotypic behavior. In other words, they sway and pace and growl and chew themselves like prisoners in a cell, because that's what they are. Sure we provide as much space and enrichment as we can but with 300 dogs and so little resources, sadly the human animal bond gets lost. 
 
So, why not give Taiwan's local dogs a second chance at life? Shelter life is not living; it’s existing. Why not send a cold climate dog that should never have been bred in Taiwan back to the climate where she belongs and with a good family? After all, this is one earth we live on and these arbitrary boundaries we draw in the sand are part of the problem, not the solution. Taiwan’s dogs are loyal, easy to train, and have very healthy genes. They are planet earth’s dogs and deserve a second chance, regardless of the lines we humans have drawn in the sand. We are all earthlings.

Dear PACK,
Thank you for sharing this wonderful video of Pepsi and her transformation under your care. You are doing so much good for so many animals. Thank you!

Angel continues to do very well. While I promised Caroline (my dog-rescue advisor) that I would not make a final decision for a month (I tend to be a bit impulsive in matters of the heart) I know that I will keep her. She is a total love and is very happy here. 

Last night I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, and when I entered the bedroom this sweet sight awaited me.

I have been spreading the word about AHAN and PACK as best I can in my day to day life. As you can imagine, Angel attracts a lot of attention wherever we go, so I always tell people as much about her story and your remarkable work as much as I can. My neighbor is in contact about finding a dog to adopt. As long as you keep up this work I will continue to support you. I just made another $250 donation. 

Warm wishes,
Susan

​USD: https://www.packsanctuary.org/donate-usd.html
TWD: https://www.packsanctuary.org/donate-twd.html
​
In April 2019, while working on elephant cruelty investigations, PACK CEO Tim Gorski came across a dying street dog seeking refuge in a residential garage. The owners of the house wanted to help but really doidn't know what to do. The nearest vet is over an hour away. Tim agreed to take Pepsi to the vet to be treated, vaccinated, and neutered. Tim then helped the homeowners adopt Pepsi by teaching them proper care. This is the result of that minimal effort just 3 months later.
PACK cannot save animals and educate peopel without your support. YOU made this happen.

今年四月，PACK執行長Tim Gorski在泰國進行受虐大象調查時，遇到一隻垂死的浪浪Pepsi，倒臥在一個民宅前的垃圾堆中。民宅屋主想要幫忙，但卻不知道該怎麼做，而最近的獸醫大約要開車一個小時。Tim決定幫助Pepsi, 帶他到獸醫那裏診治，打預防針並結紮。接著再帶Pepsi回到民宅主人那裡，教導民宅一家人如何照顧受傷的Pepsi。透過影片，你可以看到Pepsi這三個月的轉變。
沒有您的贊助捐款，PACK便無法幫助傷病動物，獲得妥善的醫護並安置動物到最合適的家。您是推動PACK營運和救援生命真正的幕後英雄! 因為您，我們才能持續幫助更多無助的毛孩們!

台幣捐款抵台灣稅: 
https://www.packsanctuary.org/donate-twd.html
美金捐款抵美國稅: 
https://www.packsanctuary.org/donate-usd.html
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PACK月營運至少一百萬。目前醫療債款15萬仍未還清，同時醫護費用仍持續增加當中。外加最近接獲太多棄養未結紮案件，每一隻狗在台灣的血檢、心絲蟲藥和結紮費用加起來將近一萬元。需要大家一起分享幫忙更多生命!

Holland has been working hard to fix their stray dog problem and it finally paid off! The Netherlands has officially become the first country without stray dogs. Hopefully, other countries with similar issues will follow suit as Holland shows the world that it can be done! ​

June 14th, 2019
By Cedric Jackson
Contributor at Animal Channel

Homelessness is a huge problem for animals all over the world. There’s no way to exactly count how many stray dogs there are But the World Health Organization estimates that about 200 million around the globe do not have a home.

What’s more, there’s no real easy solution to this problem. As stray dogs continue to have babies, the world is simply unequipped to handle the sheer influx of them. Sadly, that means having a home and a family isn’t going to happen for the vast majority of pups.
“This problem has escalated to the point where it would take decades of a concentrated spay-neuter program in a city like Houston to begin to reduce the numbers,” said Peter Zheutlin, a rescue dog advocate. “The shelters are not often high priorities for governments either when they’ve got competing demands from the school department, the police department, the fire department, parks, sanitation. Who speaks for the dogs?” Click here for full story and find out at Animal Channel.

There's a good reason to celebrate the Year of the Pig. Pigs are among the most intelligent animals and are known for their long memories and sophisticated communication skills. They're playful, sensitive beings who, like humans, love and cherish their families. We know because we have seven rescued pigs at PACK Sanctuary and over 100 rescued and living in peace at our new affiliate's farm sanctuary in Linkou. 

But many pigs born over this Lunar New Year won't live long enough to see the next one.
Instead, on farms around the world, they'll be taken away from their mothers just days after their birth to enter a short and grueling life on a factory pork farm just to fill our bellies with that salty meat. Naturally pigs can live for more than a decade, but after as little as five months spent inside a dark, crowded warehouse, many will face a terrifying journey to the slaughterhouse, where they will be violently killed and dismembered, all so that their flesh can become someone's pork.

Imagine for a moment the absolute terror of being torn away from your family, mutilated, and imprisoned for months in a filthy, windowless shed with others like you. Millions of smart, sensitive pigs endure this abuse each year. Whether such misery takes place on a farm in Asia or the U.S., the pain and fear experienced by these animals is the same.

Please make this year a good one for pigs by considering to lower your pork intake. There are so many mock meats and pork alternatives now that taste greta and provide even better nutritional value. We love pigs at PACK. That's why we don't eat them. 

Tim Gorski
​CEO - PACK SANCTUARY 

祝您豬年諸事如意行大運。告別了狗年，讓我們一起歡慶豬年的到來。
千萬別小看我們的豬朋友，它可是排行前幾名聰明的動物，有著驚人的記憶力和溝通技能。
巴克園區目前照顧七隻獲救的快樂豬兒。它們跟人類一樣喜歡跟家人一起享受天倫，有著細膩的感受，熱愛與同伴遊戲。
不同於住在巴克園區的快樂豬群，很多年節期間出生的小肉豬多活不過明年。多數豬繁殖場在小豬出生後不久，便將其帶離母親，進入育肥階段; 飼養至四~六個月大，體重達標後，小豬便要面臨屠宰的命運。
一般家豬平均壽命為20年，野豬可活到50年。肉豬就沒有那麼幸運了; 豬寶寶出生後在狹小且光線不足的豬圈環境生活大約五六個月後，便被送進屠宰場，成為人類餐桌上的食物。
​
今天捐款幫助更多生命，一起跟巴克過一個友善豬豬的農曆新年! 您的定期捐款能夠幫助我們提供園區的豬群不間斷的照護。

想像一下，一群生命被監禁在骯髒，沒有窗戶的棚子裡，沒有家人，只有恐懼。每年有數百萬隻豬承受這樣的對待。無論在亞洲或美國，養豬場的小生命所經歷的痛苦和恐懼都一樣。
根據一些臥底豬場的調查人員所述，許多豬場工人會踢母豬，甚至用金屬棒毆打它們，拿東西戳瞎豬眼睛。更有錄像拍到豬仔們被抓起並多次撞擊地板致死。柬埔寨金邊的屠宰場工人一次又一次地用金屬管狠狠砸豬的頭部，每次敲擊，豬便痛到大叫。其中有一頭豬在斷氣之前，經歷了金屬管狠狠敲擊了六次。

沒有任何動物天生下來就該承受這樣的苦痛。PACK邀請您一起關懷豬朋友。你今天的捐款將幫助更多動物免於監禁、虐待和殺害的恐懼。想要更積極的減輕豬豬們的痛苦？您或許可以考慮減少豬肉量的攝取。一週安排一天不吃豬肉，或一季安排一週不吃豬肉，您跟家人每年可以挽救數十條小豬的生命。

豬跟人類一樣愛家，珍惜自己的生命。您的捐款將推動巴克幫助豬豬和更多動物生命脫離苦難和恐懼。感謝您為動物付出的一切。

Tim Gorski
​CEO - PACK SANCTUARY ​

By Bruce Shu

The journey of a rescued or abandoned dog shouldn’t end at the shelter. Most dogs are only at their happiest with the security and affection of humans they trust. But many never feel that happiness, being passed over because they are older or big or mixed breed, because of anxieties developed as a stray, or simply because they are not used to people and lack the social skills to charm themselves into a new family.
​
毛孩在遭到棄養、獲得救援後，收容所不該成為他們生命的終點。多數狗狗只要身處他們信任的人類身邊，得到安全感和愛，便能感到無比幸福。但有許多狗狗終其一生不知幸福是什麼—他們不是太老、體型太大、非純種，就是因流浪太久導致焦慮傾向，亦或是單純不適應人類生活，缺乏社交能力，難以融入新家庭... 種種原因讓他們無法成為領養首選。

This is where fosters make a difference and save lives – by helping dogs to transform mentally and physically to get ready for permanent homes and by advocating for their adoption. Fostering has its challenges. Rescued dogs range from the nearly perfect (rarely) to the severely behaviorally challenged, to put it diplomatically. They take patience and time, but any sacrifice is repaid tenfold in seeing their transformation and growing confidence and sense of security.

為了避免毛孩們與領養絕緣，中途/寄養家庭的存在變得格外重要—不只改變生命，更是拯救生命。中途/寄養家庭幫助狗狗在領養前，做好身心全方面的過渡準備，提高領養機會。獲救的狗狗通常有著不同的情況，從接近完善的身體狀況（非常少）到有嚴重身體殘缺，為了使得他們能再次接納世界，讓寄養這件事情充滿挑戰。需要耐心也耗費時間，但當看見他們的蛻變、更加有信心和安全感，任何的犧牲都顯得微不足道。

And like sending a child off to university, every time a dog goes to a new home you get a lump in your throat but immense pride in your heart. For a long time, before I started fostering, I donated to animal welfare charities and volunteered at events and at shelters. I even adopted one of the shelter dogs. All that help was welcome, of course, but I was really leaving the hard work, the real work, to others. Fostering was a way to take personal responsibility, because dog and cat welfare starts with each dog or cat, after all.

就像送孩子上大學一樣，當狗狗被送養到新家，對我就像割下一塊心頭肉，同時卻感到滿滿的驕傲。在開始當中途/寄養家庭前，有很長一段時間，我會捐款給動物社福機構，擔任志工，參與活動，到收容所幫忙，甚至領養了一隻收容所的狗狗。收容所需要各類的協助，而我還是將最艱困、最有挑戰的工作留給專業的工作人員接手。中途/寄養家庭幫助我提升個人的責任感，從照顧一隻狗或是一隻貓咪開始，我們都能一起為動物的幸福把關。

Helping one dog at a time, sending each one on its journey – that is the pride and satisfaction of fostering.

一次幫助一隻狗，協助他們踏上幸福之路。——這就是中途家庭的驕傲和成就感。

If you are interested in becoming a foster caregiver to one of these lovely animals, please click here
想中途/寄養這些可愛動物!? 請點這裡。

Freewheeling Canines
By Taipei Times – Han Cheung  /  Staff Reporter

With euthanasia a common practice used on sick or injured animals, two private shelters in Taiwan are trying to show that disabled dogs can live happy lives with proper care and customized wheelchairs

Recently, The PACK Sanctuary in New Taipei City’s Sanchih District (三芝) reached out to the shelter under its new directive to collaborate with more animal welfare organizations. PACK has six disabled dogs who have been sitting in a room for years with little rehabilitation. Yen gave them tips on caring for the dogs and donated a wheelchair for them to try.