Gangnam-gu to Operate Pet Dog Care Shelter for Lunar New Year Holiday... Applications Accepted from the 9th

Support for Hoteling Costs for 100 Pets

Gangnam-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) will operate a pet dog care shelter for the Lunar New Year holiday. Applications will be accepted from the 9th to the 16th, and the service can be used from January 24 to February 2, covering the holiday period and the days before and after.

A pet dog playing at the care shelter. Provided by Gangnam-gu.

If residents entrust their pet dogs to professional care companies contracted with the district during the holiday period, the district will support the cost for up to 5 days. The target is 100 pet dogs over 5 months old and weighing less than 10kg with completed animal registration, and up to 2 dogs per household can apply.

The district thoroughly inspects facility and personnel standards and has selected four companies specializing in pet hotel services. Applications can be submitted through a Naver form on the district office website, and the selected applicants will be announced on January 20 after screening.

Meanwhile, Gangnam-gu has about 40,000 registered pets, the highest number among Seoul’s 25 autonomous districts. Accordingly, the district will promote various projects this year to enhance the welfare of pet-owning households and establish a mature pet culture.

The embedded animal registration support project fully covers the cost of embedded microchip registration and implantation fees for pets (including dogs and cats) for residents. In addition, a ‘visiting animal hospital’ program involving veterinarians and experts will be operated six times a year in areas with low animal registration rates, providing animal registration along with simple check-ups, grooming, and behavioral counseling.

The pet dog roaming playground, which allows dogs in the city to run freely without leashes and receives high praise from residents every year, will be operated six times this year using spacious locations such as the district office parking lot and Gaepo-dong Neighborhood Park. In addition, various programs to lead pet culture, such as a pet dog behavior correction academy and children’s animal protection education, are planned.

Especially, for the first time this year, Gangnam-gu Animal Protection Center will support pet insurance enrollment for one year for residents who adopt abandoned animals. Also, starting this February, a ‘Neighborhood Pet Boarding Service’ will be operated for socially vulnerable groups such as basic livelihood security recipients who have difficulty caring for their dogs due to hospitalization or other reasons.

District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong stated, “We are continuously expanding support projects so that pet-owning households can enjoy a happier life,” and added, “We will create a Gangnam that leads a mature pet culture coexisting with neighbors along with the increasing pet population.”