Dogs saved from slaughter at meat festival in China make new home in Ottawa

After travelling halfway around the world, 10 dogs rescued from a meat festival in Chinaaregetting settled atfoster homes in Ottawa.

• Dog meat festival in China takes place despiteonline protest

The dogs are part of a larger group of 110 dogs that arrived in Toronto on Thursday night after being rescued by Humane Society International late in the spring while en route to the Yulin dog meat festival.

The organization worked with partner charities in China to intercept the dogs, according to Gabriel Wildgen, a campaign manager with Humane Society International Canada.

Thefestivalhas been a target of animal rights activists since itsinauguration.Itofficiallylaunched in 2009as a way tomarkthesummer solstice inChina'sGuangxiprovince.

Wildgen said not all the dogs came from the same place, butthat activists would often block trucks headed for the festivaland pressure the dog meat traders to give up at least some of the animals before letting them continue on their way.

"It's important to remember that the dogs that we've rescued from these trucks are the lucky few," Wildgen said.

"They're really the ambassadors for the millions of dogs that are killed every year in China for the dog meat trade, and these dogs endure the worst kind of suffering imaginable."

Ottawa charity helps rehouse dogs

On Friday, after dealing with months of red tape,the dogs destined for Ottawa homes arrived in the rural community of Carp where foster families were waiting to bring them home.

Other dogs from the groupstayed in Toronto or went on to Montreal.

"They were held up by smog inBeijing. Then it was going to be the next day and the next day, so everybody is pretty hyped up now. Everybody is really excited about getting their dogs," said Sharon McKeil, president of the Bytown Association for Rescued Canines, also known asBARK.

McKeil said her charity doesn't normally take dogs from other countries because there are so many local dogs that need care, but that this was an exception because of the good work Humane Society International does in Canada.

"We want these dogs to settle in. They don't even know what being a pet is yet," said McKeil.

"They don't know what it's like to be treated like a normal dog they have to learn all these things. When they do learn them and when they're ready then we'll put them up for adoption."