UPDATE: Monday, June 26 at 2:10 p.m. EDT: This story has been updated to reflect that Marc Ching’s Animal Hope and Wellness foundation saved 850 dogs from being slaughtered.

Original story:

Marc Ching’s Animal Hope and Wellness foundation aims to save as many dogs as possible from being slaughtered at the 2017 Yulin Festival in China, but sometimes he’s too late. The animal activist previously told International Business Times that he and his team rescued at least 850 dogs from slaughterhouses and trucks on their way into Yulin, but on Monday he took to Instagram to post a video of a dog who died after his team intercepted her.

“She was a daughter. A memory of the walk they took in the park. That first day on the Earth they spent together,” Ching penned about the nameless puppy. “When she was kidnapped - I wonder if she thought they would find her. That her father would come to rescue her. That her brother would somehow save her.”

READ: Yulin Dog Festival 2017 To Be Deadliest In Years Since Rumor Claimed Puppy Meat Was Banned In China

Part of the video shows a rescuer giving CPR to the seemingly lifeless dog. “As we pulled the cage and liberated her from the truck - I wonder if she knew we were there. That it was my mouth that pushed air into her lungs. My hands that willed your chest to breathe,” Ching wrote.

 

She was a daughter. A memory of the walk they took in the park. That first day on the Earth they spent together. . When she was kidnapped - I wonder if she thought they would find her. That her father would come to rescue her. That her brother would somehow save her. . As we pulled the cage and liberated her from the truck - I wonder if she knew we were there. That it was my mouth that pushed air into her lungs. My hands that willed your chest to breathe. . She was microchipped, and died before we could take her back to her family. Buried her in the same place in which we buried Aries. Closed our eyes, and in a gift to the dying, cried tears on Earth no one left could speak. . https://animalhopeandwellness.org . #TheCompassionProject #MarcChing

A post shared by Animal Hope and Wellness (@animalhopeandwellness) on

Aside from killing thousands of dogs for consumption, most of the canines slaughtered at Yulin are stolen pets. In China, many people microchip their dogs so they cannot be stolen, killed and sold for their meat. But the microchips don’t always help — and this was the case with the puppy Ching posted about Monday.

“She was microchipped, and died before we could take her back to her family. Buried her in the same place in which we buried Aries,” the animal activist wrote. “Closed our eyes, and in a gift to the dying, cried tears on Earth no one left could speak.”

At the time this article was written, the video was viewed more than 25,000 times by the 157,000 users who follow Animal Hope and Wellness on Instagram.

In the previous post, Ching shared a happier story about a dog named Angie who was ultimately saved. When they rescued her, she had a deep gash in her throat that was created by a tight metal wire around her neck. Ching touted Angie as a hero for overcoming the torture she endured.

 

Before I left, I attended an event that worked to raise awareness for rhino poaching and elephants. When the honorees spoke, they talked about how when people were heroes. . I never knew what a hero was. Never met one, until the day I first walked into a slaughterhouse. The way they took his paw, and nail gunned it into the wall. . I remember blood that stood on paper. Tears that fell, like God dying there to save the Earth. . That was the first time I ever saw anything die of torture. The way they cut his face. How they broke his foot and his leg. In the end he died without words. Scars wet like fear. Wounds, still there like you were yesterday. . That is a hero. This dog we pulled off of a truck - she is a hero. . https://animalhopeandwellness.org . #TheCompassionProject #MarcChing #Yulin2017

A post shared by Animal Hope and Wellness (@animalhopeandwellness) on

“This dog we pulled off of a truck — she is a hero,” he wrote.

READ: Who Is Marc Ching? Animal Hope And Wellness Saves 5,000 Dogs From Being Killed At Yulin Festival

Ching recalled the first time he ever saw a dog be slaughtered. “The way they cut his face. How they broke his foot and his leg. In the end he died without words. Scars wet like fear. Wounds, still there like you were yesterday,” he remembered.

In a previous interview, Ching told IBT the 2017 Yulin festival was slated to be one of the most deadly for dogs because rumors claimed dog meat was banned in China. Without much opposition, people in the dog trade were free to round up as many canines as they could get their hands on.

Still, Ching and his team are working with the Chinese government in Yulin to ban the sale of dog meat. He said it will ultimately be up to the people of China, though, to stop the trade.

Marc Ching
Marc Ching of the Animal Hope and Wellness worked to save at least 5,000 dogs from being killed for their meat at the 2017 Yulin Dog Festival. Marc Ching/Animal Hope and Wellness 

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella

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