Last year the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland took in five dogs rescued from a meat farm in Korea, and 2-year-old Stuart was one of them.
Last year, Stuart was one of about 300 dogs rescued by Humane Society International. The group works with dog meat farmers to help them make a living in what they consider a more humane way.
Stuart spent most of his time in a small, wire-bottomed cage. He’d never seen a leash or worn a collar.
“It was really a big transition for these guys, much bigger than the average dog,” Jeana Roth, Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, said.
Special circumstances require a special family. Lynn Gagnon and Kevin Kunath first learned about Stuart through a neighbor who was thinking about adopting him.
“And he wasn’t approved for the adoption, he didn’t have a fenced in area and Stuart needed a fenced in area,” Gagnon said. “So we said, ‘Well, we can’t leave him there either, so we’re going to adopt him.”
They had an instant connection.
“When we went in the visit room with him, he was just instantly all over us, even laying on his back exposing his belly,” Kunath said.
Gagnon and Kunath have trained a number of dogs together but none like Stuart.
“In my experience, he was the worst case scenario,” Kunath said. “Opening the fridge would spook him, opening the cabinet would spook him, flushing the toilet would spook him, everything spooked him.”
They went above and beyond to make Stuart feel comfortable even replicating his kennel at the shelter.
“And they let us borrow one of their beds so that he’d have some familiar things,” Gagnon said
Stuart’s new siblings, Shelby and Pharoah, helped too.
“For the South Korean dogs in general, they need a canine companion in their new home, at least one and that’s a confident, outgoing, reliable canine companion that can really show them the ropes and show them what it’s like to be a dog in a home,” Roth said.
He quickly started making progress, and just three months later, he can sit, stay, lay down, and everything in between.
“I would say out of a 10, he listens about a 9 or 10. He truly is amazing,” Kunath said.
Stuart’s brother Victor is still searching for his forever home. The Animal Refuge League is hoping for a success story just like this one.
“I think these dogs are really resilient. They’ve been through a lot and we are very proud to play such a small part in his story and his life and he’s got a great life ahead of him,” Roth said.