Gangneung Volunteering

The folks of Gangneung, "peeps in Gangneung" as they are called, have set up a volunteering group. I've seen other volunteering groups which occur in bigger cities like Seoul and Busan but not here. Therefore, I'm pretty psyched. It's run by three of the foreigners here in Gangneung. They've lived here for many years and are pretty settled. You can find the group on Facebook, under "Waka Waka". Things are just starting out, so more information will be provided later on.

A couple of weeks ago they organised a trip to the local dog shelter. So a few of us peeps went and helped out a little. The dog shelter is called 강릉시 유기동물 보호소 and is located in Songsan Gangneung. I think you have to phone up to organise volunteering groups. If you want to adopt a pet, I think you can just turn up. They open at 2pm. It's best to phone them on 033-641-7515 (Korean only). 

Tasks included walking the dogs. Only certain ones could be walked. I'm not sure why. The bigger ones mostly. The smaller ones inside were allowed in a small pen area. They're let out two at a time to play outside. Some dogs had diseases which meant they couldn't run around. 

There was poopascoopin'! Of course all dogs poop. Volunteers scoop these up and put them in the trash. 

You could also cuddle the dogs. They were all scruffy looking. I think all of them were tame. I was very fond of this one. I don't think it had a name. It was also an outdoor dog. If I had the room, I would have taken this one. He had no name, I would have named him Wicket. He looked like an Ewok! 

Other jobs were washing and filling their food and water bowls. Spraying the houses with pesticide to stop the flies. There were so many flies! 

We were only there for about an hour. With 7 people, you can do the tasks fast. It would be nice to stay there longer and help out in other ways. I think they should let us bathe the dogs as well as groom them. They were all dirty looking. 

Until next time,

Kelly