We visited the Cheongju General Animal Clinic in Sudong. The clinic was filled with abandoned animals unlike normal animal hospitals. When we entered the clinic, the animals welcomed the reporters by wagging their tails. The behaviors were the same as any other pets in homes. However, we knew they were abandoned because of their dirtiness and scratches which they had received when they had wandered around streets. We just guessed that they were once beloved pets as we saw ribbons which hung in their fur. After a while, we met Ko Cheol-Hwan, a director of the hospital, when he came back from the abandoned animal shelter.
 
 

 The abandoned animals in the Abandoned Animal Care Center
Four or five animals are, on average, abandoned a day. 90 percent of the abandoned animals are old or sick. Only 10 percent of the total number are returned to their original owners. They should be euthanized after 10 days from the date when the abandoned animals are accommodated. Cheongju General Animal Hospital takes in small animals, and the Abanboned Animals Shelter in Naesu manages big animals. If people want to adopt abandoned animals, they can adopt from these places.
 
 

 The adoption process of abandoned animals
Many people commonly misunderstand that the process would be complicated. The process is so simple though. First of all, people select an animal which they want to raise. Then, a microchip is transplanted into the body of the animal, or the animal wears a collar with the inserted chip. When people check the chip with scanners, the animals’ unique numbers appear on their screens. Using the numbers, people can find the personal information of the owners who adopted the abandoned animals. The ordinance was enacted in Chungbuk, but Cheongju has not implemented it yet. When the law is implemented, the center will be convenient to manage abandoned animals which low-cost. The real program is that some people adopt animals thoughtlessly. Eventually, they often return the animal because of a situation in which they cannot keep the animal. I hope that people will think  more carefully if they plan to adopt  abandoned animals. 
 

 

A word to people who abandoned animals
 I can understand people who abandon pets. They make wrong decisions. They can put their pets to sleep if they are faced with difficult situations of keeping pets. However, the owners say that they can’t kill their pets themselves and irresponsibly abandon their pets in the street. I feel that the behavior of these people is contradictory. They have a lack of responsibility about pets. If they really love their pets, they must be responsible for these pets from start to finish.