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Sihwa has endured so much in her short life. Rescued from the Siheung dog meat farm in May 2022, she was estimated to be approximately 1 year old or even younger at the time of her rescue. Believing her youth was on her side, we made the decision to send her to training school, only to discover shortly after she was pregnant.
After giving birth to 7 beautiful puppies, motherhood did not come naturally to Sihwa. Although she nursed them, she often lashed out at her puppies once they opened their eyes and became mobile. On a few occasions, she caused puncture wounds by pinning them down with her paw and snapping at them, leading us to make the decision to separate her from her puppies before they were old enough to be weaned. They were subsequently reared by shelter volunteers.
Our trainer has advised that Sihwa was likely annoyed at her puppies when she lashed out. She was too young and emotionally immature to be a mother and probably didn’t experience or learn any nurturing behaviors from her own mother because she was taken away too soon or because her mother was also too young, immature, and inexperienced. They were both victims of an unending cycle of breeding puppies.
Since then, Sihwa has returned to the training school to continue to work on her trust towards humans, with whom she has fear-based reactions and would bear her teeth and attempt to snap. This behavior was one of the reasons why providing care for her during her pregnancy was so difficult. Although she is still slow to trust, we have refused to give up on her as we see tiny steps of progress.
Sihwa’s Sponsorship Needs
Training School
Giving Sihwa the gift of sponsorship means giving her the second chance that so many take for granted. It is our hope that with continued training, she will live a less stressful life with all the staff and volunteers that come and go to care for the dogs at our partner boarding house. While she may never relish in human companionship, we hope she will be able to at the very least allow people to approach her to provide basic care.
Sihwa’s tale reminds us that even in adversity, resilience can flourish. Her resilience has been admirable, and we hope we can continue to provide her with the support needed to thrive.