Dog can't stop hugging the man who rescued her from being slaughtered

A dog that was rescued from a horrible death in a Cambodian slaughterhouse showed its vulnerability to the man who saved its life, and the animal advocate couldn’t help but falling in love with the animal.

48-year-old French-born Michael Chour has dedicated more than a decade of his life to protect the lives of dogs that are part of the Asian dog meat trade, establishing his foundation in Thailand, as The Dodo reported.

Chour has done a great job in his mission to fight dog meat consumption in Thailand, where the government forbid the practice in 2014, and he has been crossing to Cambodia, where it is still legal, to rescue dog for 14 years.

When Chour, a medical doctor, found out about the dog slaughterhouse in South East Asia, he was shocked and created The Sound of Animals to prevent as many dogs to be kill for their meat and find them a loving family.

Although he has been involved in this activity for so long, there was a particular dog that became very special for him, when he could sense the animal’s fear. Read more on our Twitter account @amomama_usa

Sweety

Recently, Chour and his team were on a mission in Chomkachek, Cambodia, where they managed to persuade the owner of a local slaughterhouse of letting his foundation take 17 dogs with them.

As the team of rescuers got the dogs on a truck to take them to a temporary shelter in O Smach, also in Cambodia, Chour noticed that one of the animals had trouble understanding that he was finally save, and she was petrified in a corner.

When the group arrived at its destination, Chour carried the female dog in his arms, and felt how the traumatized animal didn’t want to be let go of this man’s embrace. Touched, Chour stay with her in her arms for more than an hour and a half.

During that time, the two formed an unbreakable bond, and Chour gave her the name of Sweety.

“She cuddled tenderly, and let me kiss her. My heart melted, and I could not restrain my tears,” he said.

“I see too many horrible things in all these slaughterhouses I visit. I love to see them understand that they will live and receive love.”

-Michael Chour, The Dodo, April 4, 2018

Usually, after the dogs are rescued, they are send to a temporary shelter where they take care of their health issues and trauma, and then to a large shelter before the team manages to find them a proper home.

But Sweety’s journey ended with Chour, who decided to take her as his own pet. “All dogs have the right to a life of happiness, but some of them touch my heart more than others. She is one of them,” he explained.

Chack Chack

When an animal welfare act was approved by the Thai government in 2014, the dog farms were dismantled. The legal measure took thousands of dogs out of slaughterhouses but left them with no place to live or people to take care of them.

Given that situation, Chour and his team’s work in the country was far from done, and they continue to look for animals in need to offer them their help and love. In another of his tours, Chour also met a dog that stole his heart.

Chour found a very skinny dog at the verge of death by the side of the road and stop to take a look of him. He found out that he was dehydrated and could barely walk.

Trying to learn more about the dog, which he later named Chack Chack, Chour discovered that people were afraid of him and only occasionally the villagers gave him food.

With that information, Chour went on to approach Chack Chack with great precaution, only to confirm that there was nothing to be afraid of about his new friend.

After taking him to the veterinarian and regularly feeding him, Chack Chack recovered his health and happiness, and Chour found him a foster home where he can go visit him every day.

Hope For Paws

When we see how animals in distress react when they are rescued, how they are overcome by emotion when they finally meet someone who cares about them and who they can trust, it is impossible to deny that they are grateful and relieved.

When Eldad Hagar and Loreta Frankonyte, volunteers for the rescue group Hope For Paws found an abandoned and abused german shepherd, the animal was clearly needing help, but his fear of humans made her hostile.

The two animal advocates had to go through a lot to convince the dog that they were there to help, and not to harm her. But within minutes, the dog felt she could trust Frankonyte and she only accepted to ride to the shelter in her arms.

After that, it only took a couple of weeks to this dog to recover her health and trust for humans, and soon she was on her way to her new home.