SAN FRANCISCO (Aug. 28, 2025) — Aurora, a three-year-old survivor of South Korea’s dog meat trade, has touched down at San Francisco International Airport and is now safely in the arms of her adopter, Natasha Lee.

WATCH: https://youtube.com/shorts/Gy16m54V5_0 

Aurora was rescued in March 2023 from the Miryang dog meat farm, where she was found tied on a short chain with no food or water. Unbeknownst to rescuers at the time, she was pregnant. In safety, she gave birth to four puppies, Daffy, Bugs, Babs, and Taz, all of whom have since been adopted. Like many mother dogs, Aurora was overlooked while her babies found homes.

Now, after more than two years in care, Aurora has finally begun her new life. She will share her forever home with her new canine sibling, Solo.

“We had no idea Aurora was pregnant when we saved her,” said Patti Kim, President of Jindo Love Rescue. “She nurtured her puppies until they were adopted, then waited patiently herself for two long years. We are overjoyed that Aurora is finally home. She is a gentle, shy soul who deserves nothing but love and happiness.”

“I’m super excited to bring Aurora home,” said Natasha Lee, Aurora’s adopter. “I am very lucky and fortunate to adopt her. The Jindo Love Rescue team are the real MVPs here.”

“I was touched by Aurora’s story when I first became aware of it and I have been following her journey, so it was a real honor to be there to greet Aurora on her arrival in San Francisco and spend time with Natasha, her adopter,” said Michael Angelo Torres, Bay Area Campaigner for In Defense of Animals. “It was incredibly moving to see them meet and I look forward to hearing updates about Aurora’s wonderful new life in San Francisco with her loving forever family. I am so very inspired by all of those who helped to make this dream come true. It truly does take a village and we feel blessed that Aurora’s village included such amazing compassionate people.”

“Aurora was raised to be butchered, but instead she is now a beloved family member,” said Fleur Dawes, Communications Director at In Defense of Animals, who is also an adopter. “With South Korea’s historic dog meat ban phasing in, half a million dogs are still trapped on farms. We are working urgently to save as many as possible before the 2027 deadline. The years of dedicated teamwork it takes to rescue dogs like Aurora proves how special these dogs are, and hints at how much joy and love comes from adopting a dog meat survivor.”

Find out more about adopting a dog meat survivor.

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Dog Meat Ban:

After decades of campaigning by In Defense of Animals and other organizations, South Korea passed a historic ban on dog meat in 2024. Around 500,000 dogs remain in dog meat farms and must be rehomed before South Korea’s ban comes into full effect in 2027.

Dog Rescue Partnership:

Since partnering in 2017, In Defense of Animals and Jindo Love Rescue have rescued over 1,200 dogs from South Korea’s dog meat trade and found them loving forever homes in the U.S. and Canada. https://www.idausa.org/sanctuaries/jindo-love-rescue

Flight Volunteers:

Flight volunteers are always needed to courier dogs, and just one volunteer can save two lives — every dog escorted opens a spot for another rescue. Volunteering as a courier 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 couriers land. 

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

Learn More About: 

* Becoming a flight volunteer

* Adopting a dog meat survivor

* Donating to support rescue, care, and transport

Images (free to use with credit to Jindo Love Rescue/In Defense of Animals): https://bit.ly/AuroraPix

Organizations:

Jindo Love Rescue is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of dogs in South Korea. With the help of our team and volunteers, we rescue as many dogs as we can from terrible conditions in South Korea’s dog meat trade and puppy mills, as well as abandoned dogs. We look for perfect, loving homes to send these dogs to in the U.S and Canada. www.jindoloverescue.org

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a history of defending animals, people, and the environment through education and campaigns, as well as hands-on rescue in India, South Korea, rural Mississippi, and central California, since 1983. www.idausa.org/dogmeat

Contacts:

* Michael Angelo Torres, In Defense of Animals, michaelangelo@idausa.org, 415-425-2847

* Fleur Dawes, In Defense of Animals, media@idausa.org, 415-879-6879 

* Patti Kim, Jindo Love Rescue, JLR-501c@jindoloverescue.org, 714-812-2484

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