Miyoko’s Creamery Founder Helps Fly Dog Meat Trade Survivor From Seoul To Her New Forever Home In San Francisco; More Volunteers Needed!

Miyoko Schinner, the Founder and CEO of Miyoko’s Creamery, has stepped up to support In Defense of Animals and its partner Jindo Love Rescue’s efforts to save dogs from the dog meat trade in South Korea.

On Friday, September 18th, Schinner escorted a recently rescued dog named Koru on a flight from Seoul to San Francisco. There, Koru met her adopters for the very first time.

Schinner is on a mission to change people’s perception of animals who are raised and killed for food. Her Sonoma-based dairy-free cheese brand Miyoko’s Creamery supports the rapidly growing plant-based community and has just doubled its output to meet demand. The company is backed by celebrity couple Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, and the award-winning products are stocked by stores nationwide including Safeway, Kroger, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Target, Sprouts, Publix and Trader Joe’s. The entrepreneur also has her own sanctuary, Rancho Compasión, to rescue animal victims of the U.S. farming industry.

Schinner was visiting Seoul for a conference and was delighted for the opportunity to team up with In Defense of Animals and Jindo Love Rescue to help Koru on her way to her forever family.

“Dogs might not be the first animals who come to mind when we talk about farmed animals, but they are sadly also victims of people’s desire for meat,” said Schinner in an email sent to WAN. “I hope people look at Koru, and come to understand that she’s just like other unique and individual animals who are exploited and killed by the billions in animal agriculture every year. All animals deserve to live and be loved. I am proud to support In Defense of Animals and Jindo Love Rescue in their life-saving work to rescue hundreds of dogs from becoming dog meat every year.”

With an estimated 2.5 million dogs raised and brutally slaughtered for their meat annually in South Korea, change can’t come soon enough. In Defense of Animals and Jindo Love Rescue have successfully saved hundreds of dogs and re-homed them in North America since partnering in 2017.

Koru, formerly named Narnia, is about two years old, and was rescued after having puppies on Christmas day in 2018. A man who was going to sell her puppies to a slaughterhouse kept Koru outside on a chain with no shelter, with barely enough room to move or nurse. Fortunately, Jindo Love Rescue heard about her plight and rushed to save them all. Her puppies have since been adopted, and now Koru is going to have a home of her own.

“Alexx and I are so excited to have Koru join our family,” said Jade Naughton, who adopted Koru with her partner Alexx Ironwolf. “Everyone involved has been amazing at getting everything arranged for us as smoothly and quickly as possible. Honestly, this has been the best and most wonderful experience I’ve ever had adopting a dog.”

As previously reported by WAN, In Defense of Animals and Jindo Love Rescue rely heavily on travelers who volunteer to act as couriers to fly dogs from South Korea to their new homes. Now, however, these efforts are being drastically hampered by a decreased number of travelers, canceled flights and travel restrictions in the wake of COVID-19. Many dogs have been stranded by the pandemic while awaiting flights.

Not only has a lack of travel affected dogs who are waiting to get to their new homes, it’s stifling rescuers’ ability to save more.

Volunteering to travel with a rescued dog doesn’t involve much more than allocating some extra time before departing and after arriving. Jindo Love Rescue takes care of all the details, costs and paperwork for customs beforehand, and adopters will be waiting when volunteer transporters land.

Passengers taking flights from Seoul to airports in the U.S., including Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA) and Washington, D.C. (Dulles and IAD), are being encouraged to volunteer to fly dogs to their forever homes. Canadian airports include Vancouver (YVR) and Toronto (YYZ).

For travelers who are interested in volunteering to help bring a dog meat survivor to their forever home in the U.S., CLICK HERE!

To support these life-saving rescue efforts, please make a donation to In Defense of Animals HERE!

You can help all animals and our planet by choosing compassion on your plate and in your glass. #GoVeg