Dog rescued from Korean farm brought to Springfield
Ruby was one of 90 dogs rescued from a dog meat farm.
It’s only fitting that Ruby, a Great Pyrenees, got another shot at life at a facility called New Beginnings.
Ruby was one of 90 dogs that U.S. Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy rescued from a South Korean dog meat farm during the 2018 Winter Olympics. Ruby arrived in Springfield on Thursday afternoon.
After Kenworthy and his boyfriend visited the farm, he brought attention to the conditions of the place and the inhumane treatment of the dogs there.
The farm was shut down and, with the help of Humane Society International, the 90 dogs living there were airlifted to Canada for adoption. The skier adopted one of the dogs and named him Beemo.
There were a few dogs that didn’t get placed in Canada — and Ruby was one of them.
The New York-based National Pyrenees Rescue Center, which operates the New Beginnings Kennel in Springfield, is responsible for bringing the dog to the region, said Steve Kalko, who manages the kennel.
“We find them homes. That’s our mission,” he said.
Kalko said most of the Great Pyrenees that come to New Beginnings are from owners surrendering the dogs or those that are picked up from high-kill shelters.
When Ruby arrived at the facility, she was very shy, timid and not eager to leave the cage she was in which she was transported. Kalko said the breed is very protective by nature.
Ruby was positioned next to Tank, another Great Pyrenees who came to the shelter severely malnourished, but is now at a healthy weight.
“They’re our guardian breed,” Kalko said.
Ruby will get additional medical care while at the facility. It’ll be at least a month before she’s put up for adoption, so the facility can see what her true temperament is like after the initial change of being in a new and unfamiliar place.