Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/monk-resuces-dogs/
A Buddhist monk in Shangai, China has devoted his life to rescuing dogs and has been on a mission to give them each a better life.
Zhi Xiang has been rescuing stray dogs since 1994. Over the course of his life, he’s saved over 8,000 dogs from the streets of China and cared for them all.
Many of the dogs got to live with him at his monastery, and others found loving homes with new families.
51-year-old Xiang, along with help from volunteers and staff at the Bao’En Temple, cares for hundreds of dogs and cats, racking up a bill of $2.5 million each year to do so.
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He tries to find new homes internationally for as many of the animals as possible. He’s successfully rehomed around 300 dogs to families in Germany, the United States, and Canada.
Many of the animals Xiang takes in are too sick to be adopted out straight away, and he does his best to care for them. He’s not a veterinarian, but he gives them all the care that he knows to do. The dogs that are healthy can go straight to adoption shelters or a family.
Xiang cares for so many animals, but he does miss the ones who find new families. However, he knows it’s for their best and is happy for them.
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Speaking with ABC Australia, he said, “I think they’re very happy so I feel it’s worthwhile. But of course I miss them. I have a dream that one day, when I have some free time, I want to go abroad and visit them, take photos with every dog that I rescued. So when I get old and can’t walk, I have these photos to look at.”
The world could use more people like that.
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
