'Nowon Daengdaeng House' Launches New Educational Experience Program... Dobong-gu Halves Annual Stray Animal Cases

[Seoul District News] Nowon-gu Launches Diverse New Programs from March Including Dog Fitness and Pet Calligraphy... Dobong-gu Stray Dog Cases Decrease from 331 in 2017 to 161 in 2021 (49% Reduction Compared to 2017)

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is operating a new education and experience program for pet owners and their pets at ‘Nowon Daengdaeng House’.

Since its opening in 2020, ‘Nowon Daengdaeng House’ has been leading a mature pet culture and providing services for pets and pet families. In 2021, despite restrictions on the number of participants due to COVID-19, 99.2% of the 1,920 users expressed satisfaction, successfully establishing itself in the local community.

The newly introduced programs starting from March this year are ‘Dog Fitness’ and ‘Pet Calligraphy’ from the Daengdaeng Academy.

First, ‘Dog Fitness’ is a basic class for dogs with no fitness experience. It helps strengthen muscles and prevent various joint diseases through proper exercises targeting different muscle areas of the dog.

The classes proceed as follows: ▲Week 1 ‘Adapting to fitness tools, learning basic postures and stretching’ ▲Week 2 ‘Strengthening hind leg muscles and core exercises, walking practice’ ▲Week 3 ‘Strengthening front leg muscles, developing hind leg cognitive ability’.

‘Pet Calligraphy’ is a time to learn calligraphy along with pet illustrations. It teaches how to draw your pet’s face, write their name, make embroidery hoop frames, and edit and upload on smartphones, turning ordinary days with pets into precious memories.

Additionally, a ‘Puppy Class’ is held to help young dogs grow into well-mannered dogs. It targets puppies under one year old, teaching good habits and basic socialization. The program combines theory and practical training on dog behavior and communication methods to help young dogs and novice pet families become true families.

Besides the new programs, existing courses with high user satisfaction continue to meet pet families. Representative programs include the correction education ‘Wise Pet Life,’ which offers counseling and customized solutions for problematic dog behaviors, and the participatory and hands-on special lecture ‘Daengdaeng Academy,’ which includes making handmade snacks. In the second half of the year, a pet culture seminar called ‘Gag Concert’ is also planned.

Those wishing to enroll in the Daengdaeng House March programs can apply on a first-come, first-served basis from 10 a.m. on February 22 through the official Daengdaeng House website.

The participation fee is 5,000 KRW per class, and detailed information such as the education schedule can be found on the website and at Daengdaeng House.

Meanwhile, ‘Nowon Daengdaeng House’ is conducting various projects to promote a culture where dogs and pet families love and coexist with each other. These include ▲protecting and managing abandoned or abused animals found in the area and providing customized adoption education for families adopting abandoned dogs ▲providing community spaces such as resident-friendly cafes and pet resident gatherings ▲operating a self-dry room equipped with bathing facilities including bathtubs and dryers.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Pets are also members of our community who live with us and deserve respect and the right to live happily,” adding, “Given the characteristics of densely populated apartment areas, we will strive to create a culture where both pet families and non-pet residents coexist.”

Dobong-gu (District Mayor Lee Dong-jin) announced that the number of abandoned animals has been reduced by half over five years thanks to the operation of the animal registration system, outsourcing to private animal protection centers, professional animal education, and the activities of citizen animal protection honorary monitors.

The number of abandoned (lost) animals in Dobong-gu over the past five years is ▲331 cases in 2017 ▲276 cases in 2018 ▲262 cases in 2019 ▲254 cases in 2020 ▲161 cases in 2021.

The ‘Animal Registration System,’ implemented since 2014, is a system that mandates the registration of ‘animals subject to registration’ to protect animals and prevent loss or abandonment. ‘Animals subject to registration’ refer to dogs aged two months or older kept for companionship in houses or quasi-houses or in places other than houses or quasi-houses.

Owners of animals subject to registration must visit nearby animal hospitals or animal sales businesses that act as registration agents to register their animals. Failure to comply with animal registration may result in a fine of up to 600,000 KRW. As of 2022, a total of 19,953 animals are registered in Dobong-gu.

Dobong-gu is also working hard to rescue lost or abandoned animals and capture and protect feral dogs through outsourcing to private specialized companies. Citizens who find lost or abandoned animals or feral dogs wandering hiking trails can request animal protection or feral dog capture from the Dobong-gu Environmental Policy Division. Abandoning animals is punishable by a fine of up to 3 million KRW.

Every year, Dobong-gu conducts animal protection education for young children with professional animal protection education companies to foster respect for life and responsibility toward pets.

In addition, to form a mature pet culture, Dobong-gu invites animal behavior specialist veterinarians and animal law experts to operate dog culture classes. This year, Dobong-gu plans to operate about 100 animal education and culture classes at dog parks and other locations.

Currently, Dobong-gu has appointed six citizens as animal protection honorary monitors to guide and educate on animal protection, including preventing animal abuse. The honorary monitors promote dog etiquette and educate on violations such as not wearing leashes and not picking up excrement in places with frequent animal-related complaints such as parks and walking trails.

Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “The decrease in abandoned animals is proof that a proper pet culture is being formed. We will continue to create a Dobong-gu where people and animals live happily together.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.