“We kept our promise not to abandon her for 17 years”... The story of a senior dog searching for her ‘first mom’ before she passes [Warm Stories]

[Financial News] The moving story of a pet owner who kept a promise made on the street 17 years ago has touched many people. A flyer seeking the original owner who gave the dog away has surfaced as the senior dog approaches the end of her life.
Recently, a photo of a flyer titled “Looking for the woman who gave us a puppy 17 years ago” was posted on a local community platform and social media.
According to the flyer, the story began around July 2007. At the time, a middle-aged woman was standing at the Yeongdae Hospital intersection in Daegu, holding a three-month-old female mixed-breed puppy. “She couldn’t get along with her siblings, and I felt sorry for her, so I brought her out to give to anyone who would take her,” the woman said as she handed the puppy to a mother and daughter passing by on a scooter. The puppy was handed over in a black plastic bag, and the woman reportedly repeatedly urged them, “Please never abandon her.”
The bond they formed that day lasted for 17 years. The mother and daughter thought the puppy was so lovely that they named her Princess and welcomed her into their family. But time passed, and Princess, who was around three years old, is now a senior dog whose strength has waned and whose health has seriously deteriorated.
In the flyer, the owner said, “We’ve been so happy all this time because you gave us our lovely Princess. I really wanted to thank you,” adding, “Princess is now a senior dog and is very ill, so I want her to meet her original mom before she leaves us.”
The owner added an earnest plea: “I kept my promise not to abandon her for 17 years, so I hope you’ll meet our Princess at least once.”
Since the story came to light, public support has grown even stronger. It stands in stark contrast to the sad reality that countless companion animals are abandoned every year.
According to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) and other sources, 110,000 to 130,000 animals are lost or abandoned in South Korea each year. Abandonments are especially concentrated during summer vacation season and holiday periods, and cases of animals being left in boxes on remote country roads, in rest-stop restrooms, and in secluded parks continue unabated.
Recently, cases have even come to light of people abandoning senior dogs by leaving them at veterinary clinics or along roadsides and fleeing, saying the animals are old and sick and their vet bills are too high, or of people cruelly digging out their dogs’ implanted microchips with weapons before abandoning them. Such cases have sparked public outrage. The prevailing attitude treats companion animals not as living beings but as “disposable objects.”
Against this backdrop, the story of this mother and daughter, who have shouldered the full burden of veterinary bills and care over 17 long years and are determined to see their responsibility through to the final farewell, feels all the more special.
People online who have read the story are expressing their support, saying, “You can feel the love in the way they took responsibility for and cared for a life for 17 years,” “It makes me want to say, ‘Thank you for keeping your promise,’” and “I sincerely hope a miracle happens so they can share one last goodbye.”

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