Tiffany the Korean rescue dog gets a new face and a new life

Tiffany in October 2009 following reconstructive surgery (photo courtesy of Falyn Jarvis)

In late 2008, the closure of a small private shelter in Daejeon brought some 25 volunteers together to move 70 dogs to a mountainside property in Asan. Photographer Harvey Rosas, one of the volunteers, posted a warning when he shared his pictures on the Animal Rescue Korea website: One image was very disturbing.

One of the dogs already living at the shelter was missing her nose and most of her upper snout. Her teeth were permanently exposed, and in a still photo she could have been mistaken for an aggressive dog.

But Tiffany's tail was always wagging. She loved people and she loved being petted. Over the next few months, many ARK volunteers fell in love with the little mixed-breed dog with reddish fur and happy eyes.

For three years Tiffany had lived at "Jane's Grandpa's House" with about 200 other dogs under the care of rescuer Park Hee-tae. Park had learned about Tiffany through an Internet discussion after the little dog was found in Bucheon as a stray and brought to an animal hospital in Seoul. No one knows what caused her injuries, but her story shocked many Koreans.

The ARK volunteers wanted to find a permanent home for Tiffany, but they knew it wouldn't be easy. Falyn Jarvis of Regina, Saskatchewan, contacted veterinarians at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan) and found out they had treated another dog with severe facial injuries like Tiffany's. She forwarded a picture of that little dog to Tiffany's friends.

Jarvis had spent a year teaching in Korea before returning to Canada in July 2008 with three dogs from the Daejeon shelter, where she'd participated in regular volunteer visits. Upon her return she'd founded her own rescue group, Korean Animal Rescue Regina. Jarvis agreed to bring Tiffany to Canada and foster her until she could be adopted.

Tiffany left Korea in June 2009 and is living with Jarvis, her partner and eight foster siblings—two dogs Jarvis already had before going to Korea, four she adopted from Korea, and two more Korean foster dogs. She also has a new nose. The procedures weren't strictly cosmetic, Jarvis explained in an e-mail interview.

"The main issue with Tiff before the surgery was that the area was always infected," she said. "She would damage it very easily and often have nosebleeds and bleeding [in the area of] the teeth that were infected. The damage was actually worse than it looked. Over time a scab of sorts had formed over much of the exposed nasal cavity. One day I was removing a fur ball that was stuck on her nasal [area] and the whole scab cracked! It was horrible and very infected. She must have been in a lot of pain—and there was a real danger from frostbite. Her nose would have frozen instantly and the tissue would have been badly damaged."

Tiffany's treatment involved two main operations.

"The first surgery was to remove all of the dead and infected tissue," Jarvis said, "as well as the upper teeth that were broken and infected. Dr. Anthony then scaled and cleaned up the entire mouth area. She had to take meds for about two months to strengthen and clean her mouth.

"The second surgery was to create the nose. She had the tip of her soft palate turned up to create the end of the nose and the sides of her cheeks were pulled over to form the covering. She was in hospital for about a week afterwards."

Tiffany has almost fully healed and will be ready to go to her forever home soon.

"She has one more appointment just to check that everything has healed correctly and then she is moving to Lethbridge to live with a wonderful woman who runs a cat rescue there and an 8-year-old Jack Russell," Jarvis said. "If for any reason it doesn't work out she will come back to us."

Discussions about Tiffany in venues such as Facebook have generated a few negative comments about Korea. Jarvis always responds by pointing out that it was Koreans who saved Tiffany and that she never could have started her new life in Canada without Park and many other Korean rescuers.

"I try to be very careful about what I say about Korea," Jarvis said. "I try to avoid any blanket statements and as much as possible I try to keep it about helping the dogs and not condemning anyone. The problems the animals face in Korea often have to do with animal education, regulation and money. Those who choose to rescue animals do so at tremendous cost and personal sacrifice. I was so inspired by the people I met when I was living there that I tried to bring a bit of their dedication home with me. I get very angry when I read statements like the ones you referred to—not only are they ignorant but they are not constructive. There are people everywhere that do horrifying things to animals—and other people! Korea does not have a monopoly on that—but they do have people willing to help keep dogs like Tiffany safe. ... It's not that people don't care, it's just that the framework necessary to control and protect the animal population in Korea does not yet exist."

Jarvis has had difficulty finding trainers with the skills to help shy, scared dogs such as her latest adoptee, Emmie. Jarvis originally sent for Emmie with the intention of rehabilitating her and placing her in a new home.

"I did adopt Miss Emmie, and she is doing really well," she said. "She gets along fine with Tiffany but she is best buds with Ollie—they are like a little married couple."

Emmie was a fear biter who had trouble adjusting to the new shelter after the move to Asan.

"She has come a long way since leaving the shelter and she was actually one of the easier dogs to help," Jarvis said. "She isn't perfect yet but for the most part she is a happy, playful, loving dog who adores her mommy and her fur family. She wrestles and plays with toys and eats like a horse! She's so far off from the little biter who was starving herself in Asan."

Jarvis has worked independently to educate herself about dog behavior and said she finds Cesar Millan's ideas very helpful.

"And I have Panda and Oscar, my golden retriever crosses, who are about 11 years old now," she added. "They are great examples for them, especially Panda. She is such a balanced dog and she has great energy and they sort of help to get them on track. The pack really does help unstable dogs find their feet."

Jarvis only accepts small dogs for placement because she doesn't want to take homes away from dogs in her own community. Local rescues have been very supportive because they understand that, she said.

"The [humane society] here rarely gets small breeds (and they have a great placement rate for dogs) and those looking to rescue small dogs often have to wait months to find one that suits their family. Many of those families end up going to Petland or buying online. I do not in any way support pet stores, or breeding for profit of any kind. I believe in placing existing animals in crisis into loving homes. It makes no difference to me if the animal is Canadian or Korean. If it needs help and I am in a position to help it I will—especially if it takes business away from puppy mills and pet stores."

Korean Animal Rescue Regina has a good support base despite the fact that it's not registered as a charity. Jarvis has no plans to register for charitable status, she said.

"The main reason is [that] in order to do so I would have to set 'bylaws' saying which animals I will and WON'T help and it has always been my belief that if it is in my power to help an animal I will," Jarvis said. "If I was registered I would risk losing my status if I rescued an animal outside of my bylaws. In addition, this is mostly a one-woman operation (with some exceptions) and in order to register I would need to formulate a board of at least eight members, which in this early stage has not been possible. I am also concerned about long-term sustainability—eventually my Korea-based counterparts will go home and I am hesitant to work with individuals I have not met and cannot vouch for. Currently, I am working on a new project which will be registered called the Canadian Animal Rescue Alliance—this will allow me to operate well into the future with a more solid foundation—and hopefully it will allow me to start work on several more specialized rescue projects I have been planning.

"I completely understand that people will be skeptical of me and will want to investigate me and I welcome that," she said. "As far as adopters go, I screen them and they are welcome to screen me—I do not request adoption donations up front but upon arrival of the dog. I present the adopter with all necessary paperwork to prove the health, origins, etc., of the animal. I have also been lucky that the local media has taken notice of me which helps to authenticate me, most of my potential families come to me from someone who has adopted from me previously, and the main rescue groups in the area are also aware of me and have offered their support."

All animals adopted out through KARR are spayed and neutered first unless they are too young or there is a serious medical reason, Jarvis said.

"In the event that the animal is not able to be spayed/neutered (due to age or health) at the time of adoption, it is mandatory that the animal is fixed within six weeks of adoption and [that] is included in the adoption contract," she explained. "Failure to do so is breach of contract and the animal must be returned to me."

Some might ask how Jarvis can justify the use of charitable funds to fly animals around the world. Couldn't the same money help more animals in the hands of local rescuers?

"I am in a situation where my community is in want of small breed dogs," she answered. "Why shouldn't I fill that need with rescued dogs in need of a second chance? I tend to take only hard to place dogs that are unlikely to find Korean homes but very likely to find Canadian homes—it takes business away from local puppy mills and makes another space for a Korean dog in need.

"The cost associated with the rescue is not extreme—usually it is only about 300,000 won to 500,000 won per dog. That money could go directly to a rescue in theory but it is actually cheaper for a Canadian family to rescue a Korean dog rather than to buy one from an unregistered breeder or pet shop. The ultimate goal should be placement—some of the dogs I have brought over have been in the shelter for years—how much does it cost to feed, house, vaccinate, etc., an animal for an entire lifetime? More than 300,000 won I should think."

Park, or "Jane's Grandpa," sent Tiffany his best wishes for a good new life in Canada.

Meanwhile, Jarvis credits the organizers of ARK with changing her life and career path. When she was living in Korea, she intended to apply to graduate school in Canada and had no plans to rescue animals long term.

"I got involved with the Daejeon shelter through ARK and many of its members have assisted me in the rescue process over the last 18 months," she said. "Without Tim [Vasudeva] and Annie [Sauvageau] (and several others) most of the dogs would not have made it here. They take them for their health checks, arrange their documents and get them to the airport on time. If not for ARK, I would have never known about Daejeon or fallen for the 150 dogs that lived there—I never would have brought any of them home or tried to save them from euthanasia. I would have gone home to Canada never having met them and probably would have become a librarian instead of starting KARR."

Note: In 2009, it was widely reported that Tiffany had escaped from a dog farm; however, that information cannot be confirmed. The author would like to thank ARK volunteer Sohee Yoon for providing valuable assistance for this article. More photos of Tiffany are online at her Facebook page.

• Login or register to post comments
• 1663 reads
• Printer-friendly version
• Send to friend