Tina Castelino, Author at Korean K9 Rescue

We rescued dozens of dogs that were living in unsafe conditions in a demolition site in Seocho-dong, South Korea! Our team was able to enter the site and safely remove all of the dogs. We found that there were a few pregnant dogs and several newborn puppies that would have struggled without our help. We built an offsite outdoor temporary facility to keep them safe and will slowly move them into our center when their vetting is complete. We’re so glad that our team was able to help these dogs that were in desperate need of help.

We hope that our rescue mission will inspire you to join the dog rescue movement! Some of the dogs have already come to New York City and they’re waiting to be adopted. The best way to stay up to date on this would be to follow our Instagram account (@koreank9rescue) and our Adopt page. For reference, our adoption radius currently includes select areas within New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and Maryland. Thank you for the support!

Support our Cargo Fund!

We’ve had such tremendous success with our last Cargo Fund that we are re-launching again with our newest Spring merch! With your support and donations, we raised over $6,000 to help pay cargo fees for flying the dogs from Korea to NYC for adoption. As you know, we are a foster-based rescue and our mission depends on flight volunteers to help us bring our pups from Korea to NYC where the dogs will be available for adoption.

Over the past year, Korean K9 Rescue has been financially struggling to bring dogs to NYC for adoption. Due to a lack of flight volunteers, our primary method to transport dogs has been via cargo. Unfortunately, airlines have continued to increase the already-high cargo costs, with the latest 30% fee increase that took effect last month.⁠

Through this campaign, you will directly help us offset the cargo costs so that we can continue saving dogs and bring them to their forever homes. Plus, you’ll get to rep our organization with incredible artwork by Andrea Caceres @andrecaceresg. ⁠

Visit our merch store to shop our new t-shirts and hats! It’s perfect for the beautiful Spring and Summer weather that’s blooming around us. Thank you for the support and don’t forget to share with us pictures of you rocking your new KK9R merch! Our fundraiser will be running from April 26 to May 16, 2021.

If you are interested in adopting, we have expanded our adoption radius to include certain areas within New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and Maryland. Please visit our Adopt page to apply and learn about our requirements, adoption fees, procedures, and currently adoptable dogs.

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In partnership with HSI Global (@hsiglobal), @save.life2020, and @yongin_animal_care, we helped rescue 50 dogs from a dog meat farm in Yongin city, South Korea today. These dogs, along with other farm animals, were scheduled to be euthanized on April 19th because the city shut this farm down. We’re so proud of our team in Korea (@koreank9rescue.kr) for skillfully handling the removal of these dogs along with three rabbits that are now safe! Please donate to HSI Global and support our efforts to bring this cruel inhuman practice to an end forever. These gentle souls deserve a second chance and be adopted into loving forever homes. You can view images and photos of this important rescue mission on our Instagram account (@koreank9rescue) or HSI Global’s Instagram (@hsiglobal).

We hope that our rescue mission will inspire you to join the dog rescue movement! It’s possible that some of these rescued dogs will come to the United States for adoption. The best way to stay up to date on this would be to follow our Instagram account (@koreank9rescue) and our Adopt page. For reference, our adoption radius currently includes select areas within New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and Maryland. Thank you for the support!

We’re so excited to announce that Aria has been officially adopted in New York!!!

Aria is one of the many rescue dogs that we saved from South Korea last summer. Due to her fearfulness and traumatic background, she has required extra rehabilitation and training in order to feel comfortable around strangers and outdoors in streets of New York City. Our Korean K9 Rescue alum, Amelie and her parents, fell in love with Aria and have truly been giving Aria everything that she needs to thrive in a quieter part of New York. We’ve already seen great progress in Aria and know that she’s found the right forever home with adopters that truly understand what “rescue” means. Thank you to everyone that has supported Aria and rooted for her to be adopted! You can continue to follow Amelie and Aria’s adventures at @amelie.and.aria on Instagram.

We hope Aria’s adoption story has inspired to join the dog rescue movement! ⁠Our adoption radius currently includes select areas within New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and Maryland. For full details on our adoption radius and procedures, please check our Adopt page. We’re looking forward to having you join our alumni community!

We are constantly inspired by our fearless adopters and members of the dog rescue community. Meet Teresa Ting (Instagram: @teresainaction), KK9R alumni and founder of Main Street Patrol (Instagram: @mainstreetpatrol)!

With the rise in Anti-Asian hate crimes, Teresa founded Main Street Patrol to help protect her neighborhood of Flushing, Queens in New York City. She has built a volunteer-run organization that not only keeps a watchful eye on the community and educates the public on bystander intervention, but also uplifts the Asian community by highlighting its rich culture and local businesses.

We are honored to call her one of our dog rescue’s adopters, and are so proud of how she has rallied her peers and her community to stand against all hate crimes in New York City. Today and every day, we stand with the entire AAPI community. To learn more about Teresa’s mission, to get involved as a volunteer, or to learn more about bystander intervention, please check out Main Street Patrol!

In case you missed it… we just welcomed a very special person into our alumni community! A few weeks ago, Awkwafina met our sweet Haeng-Un at our office in Queens, New York and now she has officially adopted him! We are honored to have her join the our alumni crew, and are so grateful for her support of the dog rescue movement. It’s also very exciting to see that Page Six and People magazine both featured this adoption too!
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We don’t mean to brag, but we think our supportive and active alumni community is a core part of what sets our rescue apart. Adopting with us doesn’t end the day you bring home your newly adopted dog— in fact, that’s only the beginning! Our active alumni network is like a family, offering guidance, assistance, company, and even play dates for many of our rescue dogs (especially throughout New York City). And we’re so happy to welcome Awkwafina and Haeng-Un to our amazing family! ⁠⁠
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If you’re a first time adopter, let this be a sign… you’re not in it alone! Our incredible group of alumni are here for you every step of the way, from vet recommendations to toy suggestions, and everything in between. ⁠Our adoption radius currently includes select areas within New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and Maryland. For full details on our adoption radius and procedures, please check our Adopt page. We’re looking forward to having you join our alumni community!

HUGE NEWS: Donghae has been adopted in Maryland!!!!
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Donghae was one of the most challenging rescue dogs we’ve had in our care in New York City, but we never gave up on him and believed that the right person would eventually adopt him. We knew that he needed an adopter that would not only provide love but also structure and guidance to help him thrive. Additionally, we knew that he would do better in a quieter area than New York City, such as in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland.

For the past several months, Donghae was training hard with Lead Your K9 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania to reach his true potential. All of the hard work paid off because Donghae has made amazing progress AND found a dedicated adopter that lives in a quiet area in Maryland!⁠
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We’re so thankful to Lead Your K9 for rehabilitating Donghae and to Donghae’s adopter for giving him the forever home he’s been waiting for! And finally, we thank everyone who supported Donghae along the way. We know that our community of volunteers in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and beyond will miss seeing Donghae in New York City, but we’re sure he’s onto even more exciting times in his new home in Maryland.

Together, we’ve changed Donghae’s life for the better!

Since we started our rescue in 2017, we’ve kept our adoption radius for our rescue dogs limited to residents living in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and certain areas in central New Jersey only. But now we’re ready to go above and beyond, which means that many more people are finally eligible to adopt from us! On a case-by-case basis, we officially are accepting adoption applications from residents living within 30-miles of:

– New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island)
– Westchester County, New York
– Dutchess County, New York
– Eastern & Western Connecticut
– Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
– Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
– Baltimore, Maryland
– Washington D.C.

We decided it was time to expand beyond New York City because we knew that there were so many amazing potential adopters based in other parts of the East Coast and that some of our rescue dogs do better in quieter areas than New York City. We found excellent dog trainers in all the areas mentioned above to ensure that all of our rescue dogs receive the proper training and rehabilitation that they need.

One important thing to note is that all of our adopters must pick up their newly adopted dog at our office in Queens, New York (no exceptions). Adopters must wear masks and practice safe social distancing when travelling to New York City. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, we recommend to check and follow your state’s travel guidelines if you are travelling from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington D.C., or Maryland.

We rescued dogs from a Demolition Site!

New Korean K9 Rescue Merch!

Our Rescue Mission with HSI Global!

Aria's Adopted!

Meet our Leaders in NYC!

Shoutout to Awkwafina and our Alum!

Donghae's Adopted!

We've expanded our adoption radius!