Speaking with Dantri/Dtinews, Do Minh Khoi, 46, said that his two dogs were stolen from his home on July 24. His family have searched everywhere, including slaughterhouses.

"My son visited a slaughterhouse in Dien Khanh District. My dogs were not there but 31 other dogs were being kept in cages waiting to be slaughtered. He called me to report what he saw and asked if we could save them. I came to the place and we tried to persuade the owner to sell the dogs to us. He agreed to sell them to us for VND20 million (USD870) and we paid VND4 million to transport them to our house."

The man said that he currently keeps over 20 abandoned dogs at home so his house is becoming too small for 31 more dogs. He has posted a status on Facebook to call for help from dog lovers.

"I think that some of those dogs might have been stolen so I really hope that their owners will come to take them back," he said. "Three of them have been reunited with their owners so far. I will also give them to anyone who really loves them and wants to help protect them."

Khoi shared that his status has been shared on lots of social networks and he would wait one more week to see if anyone would reclaim their missing pets before sending the rest to a dogs protection centre.

Ha Thuy Tram, 28, said that she was delighted to get her pet dog back from Khoi.

"My dog was stolen at noon on July 26 while we were away," she said. "We have been looking for him and luckily he was rescued from the slaughterhouse. I was moved to tears when I heard and saw him safe on Khoi's Facebook status."

Tram said that she offered Khoi some money as thanks for saving the dogs, but he refused.

"He is such a kind-hearted man," she said. "I believe that he has done good work, and dog lovers can do more to save other dogs from being stolen and killed for meat."

Source: dtinews