Dogs rescued from China slaughterhouse arrive in LA
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Chris is one lucky dog.
Just days ago, he was on the back of a bike in China headed for slaughter to become somebody's dinner.
But he was rescued by rescuers in China.
"Is that like guerilla warfare? They go running in and grab them and run out?"
"How does it work? Oh, we do all kinds of thing. We have to fight with dog meat traders."
Chris and some other dogs were put on a plane in China.
They arrived at LAX Monday night and brought to Rue's Kennels in Inglewood.
There was a blessing, a ribbon cutting, and a welcome from Inglewood's Mayor James Butts.
Jill and Patti, co-founders of China Rescue Dogs, created Rue's Kennels to be the nation's first rescue facility to support the healthy international import of both rescue and companion-owned dogs.
There are a few other dog care facilities in the country that cater to importing these little guys.
But not a nonprofit, not until now, according to Jill Stewart.
She says it's expensive to import a dog from another country.
They are overseen by federal agencies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for instance.
"With the new federal rules and regulation, animals needed to come in to what's called an animal care facility. And so we said we're going to start this."
They did.
Because there are federal rules, certain things have to happen.
"I will be examining the dogs when they come from China and I will be repeating the rabies vaccine."
That's to prevent one of these critters from bringing rabies in. There are people who help with customs.
"And so when you think about the idea that this could be somebody's dinner, which is even hard to say."
"Yes, I think yeah, it's pretty sad to me."
"But we are happy for is that we're able to bring these beautiful animals here to a place where they're partners and companions."
For Chris, he's got one more flight in his future.
He's heading to the East Coast to meet the family that's going to adopt him.
To learn more, visit chinarescuedogs.org.