Chuseok Holiday Nowon-gu Office Auditorium Transformed into Pet Hotel

[Seoul District News] Nowon-gu to Operate on Sept 9 from 9 AM to 6 PM at District Office 2nd Floor Auditorium & Small Dogs Under 8kg with Completed Animal Registration, 5000 KRW Commission & One Dog per Household Until 6 PM Sept 8, First 30 Dogs Accepted... Dobong-gu Darakwon Sports Park Parking Lot Free for 3 Hours & Jungnangcheon Multipurpose Plaza Parking Lot Free for 2 Hours

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) will operate a pet dog shelter using the district office auditorium during the Chuseok holiday period.

Even if people want to leave their pets during the holiday, private pet hotels are expensive and hard to find, causing many concerns for pet owners.

The pet dog shelter set up in the district office's 2nd-floor auditorium will operate from 9:00 AM on September 9 to 6:00 PM on September 11, with a boarding fee of 5,000 KRW.

The district's pet dog shelter is a representative animal welfare service of Nowon-gu, first launched nationwide during the Chuseok holiday in September 2018, with 100% of users expressing their intention to reuse it, showing high satisfaction.

The service is available for small dogs (under 8 kg) that have completed animal registration and rabies vaccination and have no socialization issues. It is limited to one dog per household on a first-come, first-served basis for 30 dogs. Dogs with contagious diseases, pregnant dogs, or those in heat are excluded.

The shelter is equipped with various exercise equipment and toys to allow dogs to run and play. For safety, the space is separated by dog gender and size.

Operation is managed by pet sitters in teams of three, with two teams working in two shifts (9 AM to 3 PM, 3 PM to 9 PM). They provide basic care such as feeding, waste management, play, and walks, as well as individualized care services according to the owner's requests and breed characteristics. After 9 PM, dogs are placed in individual hotel rooms to rest, and the district office's on-duty staff monitor the situation via CCTV to prepare for any emergencies such as illness or injury. For owners curious about their dogs' lives, a photo transmission service is provided twice daily.

Applications are accepted through the Nowon-gu district office website until 6 PM on September 8 and are closed on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority is given to vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities and basic livelihood security recipients, and telephone applications are available for elderly living alone.

Additionally, the district has been operating the pet culture space "Daengdaeng House" since October 2020 for systematic pet culture education and protection and adoption of abandoned animals. Online registration for the September education program starts at 10 AM on August 30. The program combines theory and practical training on problematic dog behaviors, offers 1:1 customized counseling for corrective solutions, and includes a "Puppy Class" to teach manners to dogs under one year old.

Daengdaeng House also facilitates the adoption of abandoned dogs. To promote adoption of lost and abandoned animals, support of up to 150,000 KRW is provided for health checkups, vaccinations, and implanted animal registration fees.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, "For those who find it difficult to bring their dogs during the Chuseok holiday, we hope you leave them at the district office and visit your hometown comfortably. We will continue to promote various projects to ensure that both pets and their families can be happy through the establishment of a mature pet culture."

Dobong-gu (District Mayor Oh Eon-seok) will implement the first 2-hour free parking at the nearby Jungnangcheon Multipurpose Plaza parking lot to solve the parking shortage residents face due to the lack of parking spaces at Darakwon Sports Park.

The Jungnangcheon Multipurpose Plaza parking lot (with 99 parking spaces), which was previously paid, now allows the first 2 hours of free parking. Additionally, the Darakwon Sports Park parking lot's free parking time has been extended by 1 hour from 2 to 3 hours. After the free period ends, a parking fee of 100 KRW per 5 minutes (1,200 KRW per hour) is charged.

The Jungnangcheon Multipurpose Plaza parking lot operates only during the hours when parking management staff are present, from 6 AM to 9 PM daily. Since it is located by the Jungnangcheon stream, the parking lot cannot be used outside these hours to prevent vehicle flooding caused by stream overflow during nighttime rain.

Dobong-gu District Mayor Oh Eon-seok stated, "With the Jungnangcheon Multipurpose Plaza parking lot open for 2 hours free, we hope many people can use Darakwon Sports Park and Pyeonghwa Cultural Base comfortably without worrying about parking. Dobong-gu will continue to resolve residents' inconveniences through proactive administration."