In our development with Markus, we're constantly pushing for the next thing. We're always trying new things to train and work with him - so much so that when something doesn't go the way we expect it to, we can become discouraged or even frustrated.

Taking the time to reflect where things began helps us to appreciate where we are today and it gives us the boost for another day. Putting in perspective that Markus was a rescued dog who had difficulty being adopted because he was labeled as aggressive helps us to appreciate how far he's come in his time with us.

The Paws & Reflect series is our way of pausing to appreciate all the progress Markus has made from his days as an aggressive dog at the rescue shelter. We revisit his past to help us put into focus all the great things he's already accomplished with us.

This post is dedicated to the rescue organization that we adopted Markus from. We've written a lot about Markus and the progress he's made in the last six months since his adoption, but we wanted to pause and shed some light on Empathy For Life, a rescue organization in South Korea that took in Markus and raised him for over a year. We're both thankful and grateful to the work that Empathy for Life does and we hope that this post extends the conversation.

Who is Empathy For Life?

The Empathy For Life is a private animal shelter located in Goyang-si, South Korea. Empathy For Life was started out of compassion for all the dogs without homes in South Korea. A lot of the dogs that they rescue come from the streets, the city pound or the dog-meat trade (or sometimes both) and they open their doors as a rescue shelter to help dogs find better situations by boarding and listing them for adoption.

Empathy For Life is specifically a no-kill shelter, which is especially important to note in South Korea where dogs weren't traditionally viewed as house pets. When we were looking to rescue, we stumbled upon Empathy For Life and we were impressed by the level of care they provide their dogs and the rate at which they rescue and find homes for them. The organization gets by with a lot of help from volunteers and donations. You can feel all the love that goes into caring for the dogs here.

Something that was surprising to us was how meticulous they were with the adoption process. For a shelter that's filling up quickly and doesn't have enough space to take in more dogs, they were still very strict with their rules for adoption. We were impressed by this because it's easy to fall into the trap of pushing dogs out so that they could bring more in, but this goes to show that there's thought and care for each of the dogs that come in through their doors.

Throughout the day, all the dogs get an opportunity to stretch their legs out and run around the facilities. This is their play time. If they happen to have visitors during that time, the dogs get to play with the visitors as well. One of the first videos that we saw of Markus was him running back and forth around visitors during one of these times and we loved seeing how much fun Markus was having. It gave us a glimpse of the dog that we were getting, but it also showed us that he was good with people.

You can visit their Facebook page where there are plenty of updates and photos with the number of things that they're up to. There's also this page that's updated more frequently, but it is in Korean.

The Wintertime

We kept in touch with Empathy For Life's updates through their Facebook posts even after adopting Markus. The organization has it hard during the winter since it gets cold there and the organization is mostly outdoors. It's especially bad when it rains or when it's windy. In these harsh conditions, they need to find ways to keep the dogs warm and there were videos of dogs curling up together in blankets to stay warm. Since Markus was at the organization for over a year, it's likely that he had to endure these cold winters and the thought of that both crushed us and helped us sympathize with the dogs that were still there.

I especially want to recognize the volunteers and the workers at Empathy For Life for their commitment and dedication to taking care of these dogs to find new homes for them. As a small gesture of our appreciation, my wife and I love to send them updates on Markus - the strides he's made from the "aggressive" dog they once knew and all the things he gets to do these days. Our hope is that seeing one of their "troubled" dogs living his new life gives them the encouragement that it was their dedication and hard work that's allowed him to have this life.

The Adoption Process

Dogs weren't traditionally viewed as house pets in South Korea until more recently. Up until recently, South Korea still had active dog-meat markets, which gives you a glimpse into the way dogs are viewed there. As a result, the rate of dog adoption within South Korea isn't able to keep up with the number of dogs that are showing up at these dog rescue shelters.

Empathy For Life has opened up their adoption to people living in the US or Canada, which is how we managed to rescue Markus (we live in Vancouver, but picked him up in Seattle). They have partnered up with organizations in North America to sponsor the sending of dogs over to this part of the world, where adoptions happen a bit more frequently. As far as we know, it's only along the Western side of North America for now.

Since they send so many dogs over, they've gotten really familiar with the paperwork and vaccinations that are required for dogs here. They've ironed out the process of adoption for people living in Canada or the US - so much so that it was an extremely easy process for us. After going through all the initial questions and interviews to determine that we're a good fit for each other, we drove down to the Seattle airport to pick him up. Everything like the paperwork for bringing him back into Canada was arranged for us.

As a final thought, the cost of rescuing a dog from Empathy For Life was surprisingly low for us. Considering they come with all the paperwork and vaccinations, in a crate and with a flight over, the cost to adopt was competitive with some of the prices we'd be paying here in North American, if not less. Part of us wondered how Empathy For Life was able to maintain the costs of running the rescue shelter with these low costs. To us, this goes to show that it's not about the organization making money, as much as it is about finding homes and second chances for these dogs.

If you're interested in rescuing a dog or would like to learn more or support Empathy For Life, you can check out their Facebook page here.

We’re so grateful for your support of The Markus Project. We mostly choose our locations through searching and word of mouth. If you know of a park, trail or location you think we should check out, please share it with us. We’d love to know!