Nowadays there is a growing awareness about how pets are treated differently by people. In South Korea, where aging is taking place, pets are not just animals but treated as important as family members. A quarter of the population in South Korea are dog owners. The number of dogs in South Korea without owners is about 15 million. In this situation, it clearly shows a drastic difference that may cause a problem.

Why do people keep pets? Some people adopt dogs just because they are cute. There are many people who adopt and raise animals because they feel lonely. In this case only about 10% of the people raise their dogs until the animal dies. The rest of the percentage just give up their responsibilities and leave their dogs on the streets.

As the situation became serious, the government came up with a number of solutions to prevent irresponsible people from buying or adopting pets with no valid reasons. First, the animal registration system was implemented on January 1, 2014 and states that in order to raise an animal, they will plant a microchip in the animal’s body to keep track of its information. The owners also have to put a pet identification tag on their animal before going outside with them. Violation of this law will result in a fine of up to 300,000 won.

On the other hand, there are many cases where pets have been used for specific reasons. A typical example is a guide dog for the blind. Blind people sometimes travel alone and are not limited to other senses except for their sense for sight. Therefore, professional organizations train canines to become guide dogs for people with a visual disability. Another example is a therapy dog which is trained to provide affection and comfort to those who are in need. Examples include people who suffer from anxiety disorders; when a panic attack happens the therapy dog will be there to make the person feel at ease.

As you can see, the importance of dogs in our lives is becoming more and more pronounced. Before adopting a pet everybody should consider the qualifications of raising one, as it’s not as easy as it sounds and there are a lot of factors to take into consideration. If you do consider having pets, you should love them much as you love yourself and your family.

L.L.F reporter Bo-Ra Park