SEOUL – Louie was as soon as in want of rescue, however is now a rescuer himself.
The deserted cream poodle suffered a lot abuse within the first eight months of his life – he was severely underweight, with matted fur, and so traumatised from being bodily abused that he wouldn’t let anybody contact him.
He was adopted in 2019 by workplace employee Choi Hyo-jin.
Five years on, Louie’s now fluffy exterior belies an attentive hound with a heightened sensitivity for others in bother.
While on patrol one evening on a walk round their home in Seoul’s Mapo district in September 2022, Louie immediately stopped in his tracks, sniffed onerous and began pulling Ms Choi in the direction of a drunken man who was sprawled asleep on the street whereas hugging a lamp put up. Ms Choi, 42, instantly referred to as the police and watched over the person till they arrived, to ensure the person didn’t get run over by a automobile.
Ms Choi and Louie are amongst 1,464 voluntary owner-pet canine patrol groups appointed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to report any suspicious exercise or security dangers to the authorities whereas occurring walks round their neighbourhoods.
Launched in May 2022, the canine patrol programme began with solely 64 members. But as extra canine house owners discovered concerning the programme, the variety of members elevated to greater than 1,000 in 2023. The Seoul authorities are hoping to hit 2,000 groups by the top of 2024.
At the 2024 Seoul Canine Patrol Activity Commencement Ceremony on April 20, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon famous that multiple in 4 Koreans now personal a pet, based mostly on 2023 figures.
The ceremony commemorated the beginning of the third yr of the venture, with almost 300 new groups becoming a member of.
Mr Oh mentioned: “Canine patrol is a citizen-friendly policy to prevent crimes and risks through the simple act of residents walking their pet dogs. This year, too, the dog patrol teams will continue to play a significant role in creating a safe and secure Seoul.”
Dog house owners who join the programme should endure screening, whereas their pets are examined for his or her capacity to obey directions and stay calm in surprising conditions whereas out on patrol obligation. The choice course of is overseen by a panel of 4 canine specialists, and about two-thirds of the dogs go the take a look at.
The profitable groups are then educated on issues that they need to look out for and methods to report suspicious exercise whereas making certain their very own security first.
The patrol programme has since expanded to different cities in South Korea, together with Incheon and Busan.
The Seoul metropolis authorities instructed The Straits Times that because the programme is comparatively new, they’ve but to check the patrol programme’s results on crime charges, however they plan to start out quickly. They have, nonetheless, obtained suggestions from residents who say they really feel safer with the programme in place.
Louie and Ms Choi are among the many pioneer groups within the initiative, having signed up after seeing a recruitment poster and starting patrolling in August 2022.
ST met them throughout considered one of their patrols within the Hongdae space on April 23, along with golden retriever Charo and his proprietor Kim Yeon-hee.
Dog house owners within the programme be a part of group chats with different groups of their neighbourhood to share info or to rearrange to patrol collectively for each security and social causes.
The two groups put on fluorescent inexperienced vests throughout their patrols and are sometimes stopped for pats from passers-by who coo in delight after they see the 2 dogs.
Ms Choi mentioned: “When we first started the patrols, Louie would get nervous about wearing the safety vest because of his past trauma, but now he has adjusted well to it and looks forward to our walks.”
They go for walks twice a day, totalling three to 4 hours.
Now that he’s a extra assured canine, Louie takes the lead in deciding the walking routes for the day.
Due to his decrease peak, he’s good at recognizing harmful objects akin to damaged glass on the bottom, and it was additionally why he was fast to find the drunken man sleeping on the street.
Ms Choi often retains a lookout for issues past Louie’s eye degree, akin to damaged road lamps.
Like Ms Choi and Louie, Madam Kim and Charo’s day by day walks are largely uneventful, though they as soon as noticed a lifeless physique floating within the Han River.
“We were with other friends as well. Someone spotted a suspicious object in the water and asked for my help to confirm if it was a dead body before we called the police. It was actually the corpse of an old lady,” mentioned Madam Kim.
The 41-year-old housewife and four-year-old Charo joined the programme in September 2023.
She walks Charo two or 3 times a day, clocking as much as 12 hours in whole on most days.
Madam Kim makes it a degree to detour and patrol the smaller lanes throughout evening walks to accompany girls who’re walking home alone.
She says that aside from making her neighbourhood really feel safer, the canine patrols have additionally fostered nearer relationships inside the neighborhood.
“Nowadays, the residents will come out to greet Charo during our patrols. We have met people who are no longer afraid of big dogs after seeing us every day. The elderly people also tell us that they used to feel lonely and even afraid when walking alone, but now they feel more assured.”
In Hoamsan Mountain in south-west Seoul, an enormous black Labrador retriever that was feared by residents is now hailed because the guardian of the neighbourhood. The neighborhood typically sees drunken individuals and delinquents hanging out within the forested areas of the Hoamsan climbing path.
Named Oiji, Korean for cucumber pickles, the 10-year-old canine is the trustworthy companion to photographer Kim Kyung-deok, 62.
The pair have been climbing at Hoamsan Mountain three or 4 occasions a day for the final eight years, even earlier than they turned among the many first to affix the patrol programme in May 2022.
“On our hikes, we met people who told us about feeling unsafe in certain areas, so I thought the programme was one way I could contribute,” Mr Kim instructed ST.
He and Oiji have since obtained three commendation awards – for serving to a runaway autistic boy reunite along with his household, serving to a grandmother discover her misplaced grandson, and breaking apart a bunch of preventing youngsters.
Mr Kim thinks that he’ll probably cease the patrols in two years’ time, as he and Oiji are getting older.
But Ms Choi and Madam Kim plan to proceed for so long as they will.
Ms Choi mentioned: “Since we walk every day, it’s nice to do good deeds at the same time. It’s also a way of setting a good example for other pet owners.”
