- J
After almost 9 years living abroad in Seoul, South Korea, it's finally time to go home to Vancouver, Canada. Korea has given me a lot: amazing friends, adventures, an MBA, and 13 adorable pets. Wait... 13 pets?!? Yes. I can explain :)
In January 2009, I began to volunteer at an animal shelter in Asan, South Korea. Although I never meant to get involved, I saw a lot of need and the situation of animals in Korea both broke and stole my heart. Over the next 5.5 years I dedicated a lot of my time, energy, and money to help animals in need through fostering, rescuing, fundraising, raising awareness, and adoption.
I personally fostered over 70 animals in Korea and found adoptive homes for most of them. The ones I didn't find homes for, I adopted as a part of my family. Some I kept because of health/age/personality issues which made them less adoptable, others I kept because of the bonds they had with each other. So 13 fur babies isn't that bad... right? But - it will be very expensive to relocate all of them to Canada (and three of my pets have health issues that have been diagnosed here but I'm sure the vets in Canada will probably want to run their own tests before giving out their medicines). And that is why I'm asking for help from my friends, family, and fellow animal lovers. I need you to help keep my family together and bring us home.
Let me introduce my family in order of adoption (because I don't want them to think I have favourites!!)
**photos in the 'updates' section**
Valentino (nickname: "Tino")
*cat*
Tino was my first planned adoption. I was living alone for the first time and wanted another living thing in the house so I decided to buy a cat from the local pet shops... big mistake, they were all underage and sickly and being used for huge profit. So I decided not to go that route and try to adopt. I saw an ad for Tino. His mom, a seal point Siamese, had gotten out of the house and had a rendezvous with one of the local street cats. A few weeks later Tino was born! I adopted him and he was the craziest little guy but has grown up into such a sweet (and giant 7.5kg!) cat.
Miko (nickname "Meekerson")
*cat*
Miko was my second planned adoption. Tino's vet had a homeless kitten and thought she would make a good friend for Tino. I wasn't sure I wanted a second cat (haha) but after a month of thought Miko was still waiting for a home, so I decided I would adopt her. As soon as I brought her home she ate all of Tino's food and stole his toy, but they were able to become friends nonetheless. Miko is quite a discerning cat (standoffish) but I don't fault her for it because she is so pretty.
Mini (nickname "Fat Orange")
*cat*
Mini was a foster fail~ but I didn't adopt her, my cat Yong (nickname: "Boogers") did. Boogers passed away two years ago (FIP) and I miss him all the time, but while he was alive he was a "mom" to all my fosters and he and Mini became great buddies. I got Mini and her sister as days old momless kittens who my friend rescued from a shelter. Mini's sister passed away despite my best efforts to bottle feed them, but Mini was so strong and survived and has gone on to become one of the world's bossiest, but loveable, cats. She has one patch of white baby fur that has never changed to adult fur, I like to think that is her sister always with her.
Charles
*cat*
I took Charles as a temporary foster after taking him out of the shelter he was living in, and later adopted him due to his ongoing health issues. He couldn't survive at the shelter because of a health issue called Stomatitis (his mouth is allergic to his own plaque) which made eating extremely painful and at times impossible. He had to have his teeth removed in order to have a chance at a normal life, but even so, he still suffers from the condition and requires medication frequently. Charles is a brawler. He has a pot belly, bow legs, cauliflower ears from having struggled in life, but to me he is adorable!
Roxy
*dog*
Roxy was pulled from the shelter because she got attacked in a pen fight and and suffered a huge wound to her leg which led to blood poisoning. I visited her at the vet and later took her as an emergency foster so she wouldn't have to go back to the shelter. At that time, I knew nothing about dogs and was still a bit afraid of them, but Roxy was a gentle soul. My friends agreed to take Roxy from me as a foster and helped her learn how to be a dog, and she began to gain confidence. But then their landlord said they couldn't keep her anymore so I took her back in and after over 6 months without any serious adopters, I decided to make Roxy a permanent member of my family. Watching her grow and become confident over the years I've had her has been amazingly rewarding.
Minnie (nickname: "Min-EEE")
*Ewok posing as a dog*
Minnie was the best mistake of my life. I saw Minnie's photo on one of the kill shelter websites and I couldn't unsee it. She was in there with her three puppies and after a lot of thought I decided the responsible thing to do was to take out one of her puppies and another single puppy who I knew I could find adopters for. Luckily I didn't stick to the plan! The shelter manager asked me to take the single puppy, and Minnie and family. So we just loaded them into the carriers before I could change my mind. At first, things were easy, Minnie did all the work...but then she got sick. Minnie and family had contracted Distemper and Minnie had a 20% chance to survive. Through amazing vet care and a miracle, she pulled through. I visited her daily and slept at the vet, force fed her, and just when I thought we weren't going to make it, she rallied. After that Minnie and I were so bonded that I couldn't imagine living without her.
Viva (nickname: "Bieber" or "Biebs")
*dog*
Viva is one of Minnie's pups. She also had distemper but it was caught early so she had an easier time. I found homes for her two siblings but Viva stuck around and became an ambassador to future fosters like Boogers was. She adores kittens and every time a kitten needed fostering, Viva took them under her wing. She raised several of my foster kittens, including Jackie and Ninja (Ninja still thinks Viva is his mom and I don't have the heart to tell him otherwise!).
Jackie
*cat*
I was walking my dogs one night, minding my own business when I heard a kitten meowing loudly. I tried to locate her, but it was hard with the three dogs so I decided to walk my dogs then investigate after dropping them off at home. After the walk, the kitten was still meowing its head off, so I went to try and find it. I found tiny Jackie, in an apartment stairwell and scooped her up and brought her home. Viva was super excited to have a 'baby' of her own so she raised Jackie and they became attached. About a week later I was at work, just doing my job, when a student of mine brought in her bag which was also meowing.... and that's how I got Jackie's brother from another mother, Ninja.
Ninja
*cat but thinks he is an actual ninja*
Ninja was found by my student as a young kitten. He came into my class meowing so I put him in my hoodie, which he liked and stopped meowing, and kept teaching. Later I brought him home, and Viva couldn't believe her luck. Ninja, Jackie and Viva had an awesome time playing and became inseparable. I had no idea how attached Ninja was to Viva until I went to visit my grandma and boarded my dogs, while leaving my cats at home in my friends' care. When I got home with the dogs Ninja couldn't care less about me but was overjoyed at the return of his 'mom' Viva!
Hidey
*cat*
Hidey was adopted but returned to a local vet. While I was at the animal hospital, he told me her story, and I decided to foster her. She gave me a scare when I couldn't find her in my house for the first 24 hours... she was hiding in a Christmas tree, in a box. So I called her Hidey. When I went back to grad school I still had not been able to find a home for her, Jackie, Ninja, or Iron Man, who were all fosters at that time. I couldn't handle the stress of school and also going through the process of finding adopters, so I made the decision to just adopt them and no longer foster, so I could focus on school.
Iron Man
*cat* (Update: Iron Man is safely in Canada, thanks to you!! He will stay with my friends until I arrive.)
Iron Man was found as a tiny kitten by a teacher in South Korea. He was wrapped in a oily cloth outside her school. Even though her school told her to leave him, she took him in, got him cleaned up and got him adopted. Unfortunately, Iron Man got returned for being 'too kitteny' which I thought was silly... until he came to my house. He was the kitteniest kitty to ever kitten! Luckily he had plenty of playmates at my place, but he even out-crazied Tino as a little guy. However he is also very loveable and hilarious!
Raisin
*cat who is like a dog*
Raisin was living at the same shelter as Boogers, Charles and Roxy. I found a foster home for her since she was so friendly that I thought she would make a great family member to someone (I wasn't wrong, I just had no idea that person would be me!) She got adopted from the foster home into a home with another cat, but then her mom left her in Korea taking only her original cat home. Before she left, her mom found her another home. Sadly, the guy got a girlfriend who didn't like cats so Raisin ended up on Craigslist. When I saw the ad I felt responsible since I was the one who took her from the shelter to her original foster home. So the second adopter let me take her back as a foster. As soon as I got her, I realized that she was very sick. She also had Stomatitis. Since I had experience with this disease already and since she had been passed around so much I just decided to adopt her. She had surgery to have her teeth removed and has been doing better than Charles but still has some issues an recently was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disorder. This makes me so sad because Raisin is the sweetest, coolest, lovable 'cat-dog' and it sucks to know we don't have much time left together. I'm so glad I adopted her!
Gizmo (nickname "Feral")
*cat*
No family is complete without a wild child, and Gizmo is mine. I found her living in a garbage dump and realised she was the sister of a kitten I had recently caught, fosters and adopted out. She had a bad eye and fungal infection (probably from living in a trash pile!) so my friend and I caught her and got her treated at the vet, before she came to my house. Gizmo was less of a people cat than her sister, but she definitely loves the company of other animals. She has a huge crush on Tino. She let's me pet her (when I feed her) and has stopped scratching me, what more can I ask!?
That's my family! They have cost me an arm and a leg in vet bills, ruined three sofas, and given me enough love and joy to make me not worry about the money or furniture. My life would be incomplete without them. THANK YOU SO MUCH from the bottom of my heart for your help in bringing my babies to a new and better life in Canada, it means the world to me. xoxo Kathy
In January 2009, I began to volunteer at an animal shelter in Asan, South Korea. Although I never meant to get involved, I saw a lot of need and the situation of animals in Korea both broke and stole my heart. Over the next 5.5 years I dedicated a lot of my time, energy, and money to help animals in need through fostering, rescuing, fundraising, raising awareness, and adoption.
I personally fostered over 70 animals in Korea and found adoptive homes for most of them. The ones I didn't find homes for, I adopted as a part of my family. Some I kept because of health/age/personality issues which made them less adoptable, others I kept because of the bonds they had with each other. So 13 fur babies isn't that bad... right? But - it will be very expensive to relocate all of them to Canada (and three of my pets have health issues that have been diagnosed here but I'm sure the vets in Canada will probably want to run their own tests before giving out their medicines). And that is why I'm asking for help from my friends, family, and fellow animal lovers. I need you to help keep my family together and bring us home.
Let me introduce my family in order of adoption (because I don't want them to think I have favourites!!)
**photos in the 'updates' section**
Valentino (nickname: "Tino")
*cat*
Tino was my first planned adoption. I was living alone for the first time and wanted another living thing in the house so I decided to buy a cat from the local pet shops... big mistake, they were all underage and sickly and being used for huge profit. So I decided not to go that route and try to adopt. I saw an ad for Tino. His mom, a seal point Siamese, had gotten out of the house and had a rendezvous with one of the local street cats. A few weeks later Tino was born! I adopted him and he was the craziest little guy but has grown up into such a sweet (and giant 7.5kg!) cat.
Miko (nickname "Meekerson")
*cat*
Miko was my second planned adoption. Tino's vet had a homeless kitten and thought she would make a good friend for Tino. I wasn't sure I wanted a second cat (haha) but after a month of thought Miko was still waiting for a home, so I decided I would adopt her. As soon as I brought her home she ate all of Tino's food and stole his toy, but they were able to become friends nonetheless. Miko is quite a discerning cat (standoffish) but I don't fault her for it because she is so pretty.
Mini (nickname "Fat Orange")
*cat*
Mini was a foster fail~ but I didn't adopt her, my cat Yong (nickname: "Boogers") did. Boogers passed away two years ago (FIP) and I miss him all the time, but while he was alive he was a "mom" to all my fosters and he and Mini became great buddies. I got Mini and her sister as days old momless kittens who my friend rescued from a shelter. Mini's sister passed away despite my best efforts to bottle feed them, but Mini was so strong and survived and has gone on to become one of the world's bossiest, but loveable, cats. She has one patch of white baby fur that has never changed to adult fur, I like to think that is her sister always with her.
Charles
*cat*
I took Charles as a temporary foster after taking him out of the shelter he was living in, and later adopted him due to his ongoing health issues. He couldn't survive at the shelter because of a health issue called Stomatitis (his mouth is allergic to his own plaque) which made eating extremely painful and at times impossible. He had to have his teeth removed in order to have a chance at a normal life, but even so, he still suffers from the condition and requires medication frequently. Charles is a brawler. He has a pot belly, bow legs, cauliflower ears from having struggled in life, but to me he is adorable!
Roxy
*dog*
Roxy was pulled from the shelter because she got attacked in a pen fight and and suffered a huge wound to her leg which led to blood poisoning. I visited her at the vet and later took her as an emergency foster so she wouldn't have to go back to the shelter. At that time, I knew nothing about dogs and was still a bit afraid of them, but Roxy was a gentle soul. My friends agreed to take Roxy from me as a foster and helped her learn how to be a dog, and she began to gain confidence. But then their landlord said they couldn't keep her anymore so I took her back in and after over 6 months without any serious adopters, I decided to make Roxy a permanent member of my family. Watching her grow and become confident over the years I've had her has been amazingly rewarding.
Minnie (nickname: "Min-EEE")
*Ewok posing as a dog*
Minnie was the best mistake of my life. I saw Minnie's photo on one of the kill shelter websites and I couldn't unsee it. She was in there with her three puppies and after a lot of thought I decided the responsible thing to do was to take out one of her puppies and another single puppy who I knew I could find adopters for. Luckily I didn't stick to the plan! The shelter manager asked me to take the single puppy, and Minnie and family. So we just loaded them into the carriers before I could change my mind. At first, things were easy, Minnie did all the work...but then she got sick. Minnie and family had contracted Distemper and Minnie had a 20% chance to survive. Through amazing vet care and a miracle, she pulled through. I visited her daily and slept at the vet, force fed her, and just when I thought we weren't going to make it, she rallied. After that Minnie and I were so bonded that I couldn't imagine living without her.
Viva (nickname: "Bieber" or "Biebs")
*dog*
Viva is one of Minnie's pups. She also had distemper but it was caught early so she had an easier time. I found homes for her two siblings but Viva stuck around and became an ambassador to future fosters like Boogers was. She adores kittens and every time a kitten needed fostering, Viva took them under her wing. She raised several of my foster kittens, including Jackie and Ninja (Ninja still thinks Viva is his mom and I don't have the heart to tell him otherwise!).
Jackie
*cat*
I was walking my dogs one night, minding my own business when I heard a kitten meowing loudly. I tried to locate her, but it was hard with the three dogs so I decided to walk my dogs then investigate after dropping them off at home. After the walk, the kitten was still meowing its head off, so I went to try and find it. I found tiny Jackie, in an apartment stairwell and scooped her up and brought her home. Viva was super excited to have a 'baby' of her own so she raised Jackie and they became attached. About a week later I was at work, just doing my job, when a student of mine brought in her bag which was also meowing.... and that's how I got Jackie's brother from another mother, Ninja.
Ninja
*cat but thinks he is an actual ninja*
Ninja was found by my student as a young kitten. He came into my class meowing so I put him in my hoodie, which he liked and stopped meowing, and kept teaching. Later I brought him home, and Viva couldn't believe her luck. Ninja, Jackie and Viva had an awesome time playing and became inseparable. I had no idea how attached Ninja was to Viva until I went to visit my grandma and boarded my dogs, while leaving my cats at home in my friends' care. When I got home with the dogs Ninja couldn't care less about me but was overjoyed at the return of his 'mom' Viva!
Hidey
*cat*
Hidey was adopted but returned to a local vet. While I was at the animal hospital, he told me her story, and I decided to foster her. She gave me a scare when I couldn't find her in my house for the first 24 hours... she was hiding in a Christmas tree, in a box. So I called her Hidey. When I went back to grad school I still had not been able to find a home for her, Jackie, Ninja, or Iron Man, who were all fosters at that time. I couldn't handle the stress of school and also going through the process of finding adopters, so I made the decision to just adopt them and no longer foster, so I could focus on school.
Iron Man
*cat* (Update: Iron Man is safely in Canada, thanks to you!! He will stay with my friends until I arrive.)
Iron Man was found as a tiny kitten by a teacher in South Korea. He was wrapped in a oily cloth outside her school. Even though her school told her to leave him, she took him in, got him cleaned up and got him adopted. Unfortunately, Iron Man got returned for being 'too kitteny' which I thought was silly... until he came to my house. He was the kitteniest kitty to ever kitten! Luckily he had plenty of playmates at my place, but he even out-crazied Tino as a little guy. However he is also very loveable and hilarious!
Raisin
*cat who is like a dog*
Raisin was living at the same shelter as Boogers, Charles and Roxy. I found a foster home for her since she was so friendly that I thought she would make a great family member to someone (I wasn't wrong, I just had no idea that person would be me!) She got adopted from the foster home into a home with another cat, but then her mom left her in Korea taking only her original cat home. Before she left, her mom found her another home. Sadly, the guy got a girlfriend who didn't like cats so Raisin ended up on Craigslist. When I saw the ad I felt responsible since I was the one who took her from the shelter to her original foster home. So the second adopter let me take her back as a foster. As soon as I got her, I realized that she was very sick. She also had Stomatitis. Since I had experience with this disease already and since she had been passed around so much I just decided to adopt her. She had surgery to have her teeth removed and has been doing better than Charles but still has some issues an recently was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disorder. This makes me so sad because Raisin is the sweetest, coolest, lovable 'cat-dog' and it sucks to know we don't have much time left together. I'm so glad I adopted her!
Gizmo (nickname "Feral")
*cat*
No family is complete without a wild child, and Gizmo is mine. I found her living in a garbage dump and realised she was the sister of a kitten I had recently caught, fosters and adopted out. She had a bad eye and fungal infection (probably from living in a trash pile!) so my friend and I caught her and got her treated at the vet, before she came to my house. Gizmo was less of a people cat than her sister, but she definitely loves the company of other animals. She has a huge crush on Tino. She let's me pet her (when I feed her) and has stopped scratching me, what more can I ask!?
That's my family! They have cost me an arm and a leg in vet bills, ruined three sofas, and given me enough love and joy to make me not worry about the money or furniture. My life would be incomplete without them. THANK YOU SO MUCH from the bottom of my heart for your help in bringing my babies to a new and better life in Canada, it means the world to me. xoxo Kathy