Chungseong, Who Saved 16 Lives, Retires to a New Family

[Anchor]

Chungseong, a 119 rescue dog who saved 16 lives over seven years at disaster sites, retired yesterday (July 1). While artificial intelligence and drone technologies are advancing, they cannot easily replace the keen hearing and sense of smell of a rescue dog. With Chungseong’s departure, there are now only 40 rescue dogs left across the country.

KNN reporter Jo Jin-wook reports.

[Reporter]

Whether on a helicopter or in the dark mountains, Chungseong was always reliable.

At disaster sites, he was more of an expert than anyone else.

Over seven years, he was deployed to sites 281 times and rescued 16 people.

[Survivor: About an hour and a half after I went missing, I was crying because I was scared. I heard the sound of the bell on Chungseong’s collar first, and that’s when I thought, I’m saved. I realized I had survived a life-threatening situation.]

Even as AI technology develops and advanced equipment like drones are introduced, rescue dogs with their superior sense of smell and hearing remain irreplaceable.

[Song Woo-young / Busan Fire and Disaster Headquarters 119 Special Response Team: A single rescue dog has the search capability of about 30 people. I don’t think there is any equipment that can replace them, and I hope we have more rescue dogs in the future.]

Now, Chungseong is leaving the disaster scene behind.

At 11 years old, he is now a senior dog and will spend the rest of his life with a new owner.

[Yoon Moon-ja / Chungseong’s new owner: He is like a second child to me. Chungseong has sacrificed so much for people all this time. I need to repay that.]

There are now only 40 rescue dogs remaining nationwide.

Chungseong, who found a new owner after retirement, is one of the luckier cases.

There are 1,300 service animals across the country that have dedicated their lives to the nation, just like Chungseong.

About 170 of them retire each year, but only 20 percent are adopted by private citizens.

The burden of medical expenses, which can reach tens of millions of won, is significant, especially for senior dogs.

It is time for deep consideration for these service animals that have saved people from dangerous disaster sites.

(Video by Oh Won-seok, KNN | Video Editing by Lee So-min, KNN | Footage provided by Busan Fire and Disaster Headquarters)

Reported by Jo Jin-wook, KNN
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.