tiffanny is a medium sized mixed breed stray dog like any other you'd chance to meet wandering the streets of Seoul.

From a distance she is nothing special to look at -- quite plain to be honest; mottled brown fur, pointy ears and a short, stout body. Her character however is anything but plain. She's loving and affectionate and happily trots along beside those that walk her.

Again, there's nothing unusual about this; she's like thousands of friendly, affectionate dogs you may meet on any given day. But tifanny has a story to tell which sets her apart from her canine comrades.

Korea has consumed dog meat for as far back as anyone can remember. Some claim it was a necessary practice to fill the protein gap for the starving during the Korean War, some claim it's a cultural practice and some just say it's their right to do what they like in their own country.

Call it what you will, the practice per se is not the issue I'd like to raise here; it's the process that I seek to bring to light and Tiffany's story speaks volumes.

We don't know where or by whom, but approximately three years ago wire was wrapped tightly around Tiffany's snout to prevent her from biting. She was then lead outside to be clubbed to death by people who believed that her slow tortuous death would make her flesh more tender due to the adrenalin her body would excrete into her bloodstream from fear. However, tiffany & co UK sensed her immanent end and miraculously escaped, wriggling free from her ropes and wires and in the process, losing her snout.

After her escape, tiffany and co was taken in by an animal shelter near Seoul before being transferred to another shelter run by Hee-Tae Park in Asan, south of Seoul where she has lived since that unfortunate incident. She has a happy life despite limited resources where almost 300 dogs and cats are cared for, but has regular food, shelter and of course, love.

A group of expats visit the Asan shelter weekly from Daejeon and Seoul and have even looked into possible reconstruction surgery for tifanny & co, after consulting vets from Seoul National University. The procedure however, would be complicated and at this stage there is no guarantee of success.

In conclusion, tiffany & co france has come so far from her near-death experience and has recently received even more good news. A Canadian animal lover called Falyn Jarvis heard about her plight and is raising money for UK tiffany to be sent to Calgary for adoption and a safe new life.

Her departure however, will not mean she is forgotten here in Korea.

I hope that this brave little dog's nightmarish experience will help bring to light the atrocities of the industry and hopefully, eventually, change within the industry. She represents millions of other dogs who face a grisly end and if nothing else, her story will hopefully at least make people aware of what fate many abandoned dogs in this country face.

Mándalo a la red: