Twenty golden retrievers discovered in meat markets rehomed in Florida

Florida charity managed to provide loving homes for its furry friends from China

Golden Retriever rescuers in Palm Beach saved 20 dogs destined for the meat market in China (iStock images)

Twenty golden retrievers found in a meat market have all found loving homes in Florida, a process that took six months.

They were discovered in China and were going to made sold at a market dedicated to the buying and selling of dog meat in December last year. They took until now to be all adopted from the shelter.

They are part of the 2,000 golden retrievers saved by Golden Rescue South Florida, a charity dedicated to rehoming the family friendly pets, in 16 years.

One of the first new owners, Katie Brown, told WSVN: “This the happiest day in 2020 for me The fact that we’ve been waiting so long for these dogs to arrive, it’s been such a long journey, and we have to have her hear, it means truly everything, it is truly making our year.”

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic increased the demand for pet adoption as more and more people were at home due to social-distancing measures. According to data from PetPoint, pet shelter adoption rate rose to 85 per cent in the latter half of March 2020.

For Golden Rescue Florida this was their furthest afield rescue as typically, the Palm Beach based animal lovers only deal with abandoned dogs in the South Florida area. However, they opted to extend their remit and focused on helping the dogs in China.

“With the help of the Taiwan [Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals], PETA, the China rescue that we’ve been working with, TCA, another organisation in Chicago, we all came together and the dogs were fed, and they were given water and constantly 24-hour care while they were held up in their facility,” the group told WSVN.

Vice president of the charity Lisa Hodgson said, “There lives change 180 degrees from being tortured and horrifyingly treated and abandoned and abused and neglected to being loved and adored.”