The Humane Educational Society on Thursday welcomed 10 dogs rescued earlier this month from a South Korean dog meat farm.
The shelter is accepting applications from potential adopters of the dogs, who are among more than 200 dogs and puppies rescued from the now-shuttered dog meat farm.
The rescue was the 18th rescue mission conducted by Humane Society International in partnership with Korean agencies working together to shut down the Korean dog meat industry, which most Koreans find appalling, according to Humane Society International's website.
The dogs were flown to the United States, where adoptive families are easier to find than they are in Korea, the organization's website said.
The Humane Society of the United States contacted the Humane Educational Society, which is one of the national society's transport partner organizations, to see if the local shelter could place some of the animals.
Staff and volunteers drove to Maryland yesterday to pick up the dogs.
"We picked up 10 dogs, and they are all very sweet but timid," Chasity Garrett, Humane Educational Society animal enrichment manager, said by email. "Some are already snuggly, some are still a little reserved and at least one has a beautiful singing voice."
(READ MORE: Humane Educational Society moves into new $13 million facility in Chattanooga)
After driving a few hours toward Chattanooga, Jeanine Cloyd, the shelter's education and community outreach manager, said by email that the dogs were all snoozing comfortably.
"We think they are dreaming of their future forever homes," Cloyd said of the rescued dogs, which were examined by veterinary staff and assigned to temporary foster homes after arriving at the shelter Thursday evening.
The Humane Educational Society is accepting applications from potential adopters, and staff is planning to begin calling applicants this weekend as they work to determine the best fit for each animal's needs, according to a news release.
"We are looking forward to seeing them flourish as they become members of loving families and are cherished as they deserve to be," Garrett said.
Meat farms typically keep dogs in cramped metal cages built above ground with grated wire bottoms for waste to drop through, and they are provided with food and water but little else until they are slaughtered, Humane Educational Society Executive Director Rebecca Bryan said by phone.
(READ MORE: Humane Educational Society rescues 21 dogs from Rhea County property)
"It's a terrible life for them," Bryan said, adding that most dogs are part of the Korean pet industry before they end up on a meat farm.
She said she doesn't know yet if the dogs will have any issues related to their living conditions on the farm.
Adoption applications specifically for the Korean dogs are available at heschatt.org/marketdogs.
The shelter expects high demand for the 10 Korean dogs, but there are plenty of other animals at the shelter looking for homes and additional ways for animal lovers to show their support for similar rescue missions.
"The reason we can help with this stuff is because people contribute to HES," Bryan said. "That's a big part of why we can do this kind of rescue work, so if anybody can adopt any animal from HES, it's always appreciated. We always need fosters, we always need volunteers and, of course, we need donations as well."
Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508.