"Dedicated to the Nation," But Left Waiting for Adoption After Retirement

[Anchor]

There are national service animals that work for public safety, including search and rescue, and drug detection. However, only about one out of four finds a new family after completing their service.

TJB reporter Oh In-gyun takes a look at the second lives of retired national service animals.

[Reporter]

When a training ball is thrown, he darts off like an arrow.

Chen immediately returns with the ball when his name is called.

He is a police dog who has handled search operations, such as explosives detection, for the past six years.

He lived and worked alongside members of the Daejeon Police Special Forces before retiring last year.

[Kim Jong-yeol / Daejeon Police Special Forces: When I come to work, it feels like looking at a baby, so I have a lot of affection for him. He has served the country a lot, and I hope he can live happily in a better place with a good owner from now on.]

There are currently around 1,300 national service animals deployed for search, rescue, and drug and explosives detection, just like Chen.

Most of them undergo training from the age of one or two, are deployed to the field at three or four, and step down from active duty around the age of 10.

Around 200 national service animals retire every year.

National service animals that retire around the age of 10 can begin a new life if they are adopted by civilians.

Adopting families must meet certain conditions, such as having a safe kennel, and must periodically report the animal's health status to the agency.

However, actual cases of finding a new family are not common.

Among the 284 service animals that retired in 2024, only 63 found new families.

The adoption rate remains around 25 percent each year.

If they fail to meet a new family, they must spend the rest of their lives in their former affiliated agency or public shelter.

Although the government supports some care expenses such as medical and insurance costs, bills containing the basis for tribute and support for national service animals have yet to pass the threshold of the National Assembly.

An adopter who welcomed a retired police dog into their family says the joy of living together is immense and asks for more attention and adoptions.

[Ju Byeong-gyu / Adopter of retired police dog 'Hey': I decided to adopt with the thought of giving ('Hey') a happy second life. Basically, the training is so well done that he is really good and listens so well....]

Even now, more than 40 retired national service animals are waiting for new families.

(Video by Kim Kyung-han / TJB)

TJB Oh In-gyun
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.