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Seoul, South Korea

Starbucks Green Tea

Heavy Traffic

Seoul Street

Joan Dalton holding a Samsung puppy

Samsung Models Korean Corrections Dog Program on Project POOCH

WHEN YOU SAY “Samsung” people think “electronics.” But the Samsung company also breeds and trains assistance/companion dogs for the blind, the deaf and for search and rescue. Now Samsung has started a dog program similar to the one at Project POOCH.

Samsung representatives came to Woodburn in the fall to tour the Project POOCH kennels. In December, I was invited to fly to Seoul to consult at their first kennel built in a correctional facility.

My first day in Seoul I spent meeting executives and touring the company dog breeding facility for guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs, therapy dogs, and for dogs in training for agility competition.

Except for border collies trained for agility, the dogs are small because most Koreans live in small apartments with no room to accomodate large breeds.

Hostess Queenie Lee & a Chihuahua.

But the Samsung employees are devoted to their pets, and one of their “job perks” is bringing their dogs to work. The company has a doggy daycare center, and I smiled to see numerous dogs curled up on pillows by employees’ desks.

There is also an on-site veterinary clinic that cares for the dogs in the breeding programs. Hygiene is stressed, and on arrival, everybody trades their street shoes for slippers to protect the dogs from exposure to germs and infections.

On the third day of my visit, my hosts took me to the correctional facility which houses 350-400 juveniles. The youths sleep on futons, six to a room, in buildings like apartments that are surrounded by high concrete walls. The area within is about the size of a football field.

Korean corrections emphasizes vocational training and the facility has buildings for teaching welding, computers, horticulture, and other trades. But there are no treatment programs for violent offenders, drug and alcohol problems, sex offenders, or anti-social behaviors. The new dog program is an important therapeutic addition.

Samsung built the correctional facility kennels in just 40 days! There are kennels for 13 dogs, a kitchen to prepare meals for the dogs, a shower room with lockers for the youths, a dog grooming area and an office for two correctional staff who supervise five youths in the program as they work with their dogs and Samsung dog trainers.

Youths brush dog's teeth.

All of the correctional staff wear uniforms and all appear physically fit. I noticed that the laundry for the facility was hung out to dry on a clothesline to conserve electricity and the office where guards checked the visitors’ identification is heated by a small propane stove.

The kennels are heated and the dogs have new decorative beds and bowls. During their first two weeks with the dogs, the youths learn about canine health care, how to pick dogs up correctly, and how to secure dogs on the grooming table for daily tooth brushing.

The press covered the formal opening ceremony between Samsung and the correctional facility. When the newspaper articles are translated from Korean to English, they will be posted on the Project POOCH web site.

I was in Korea for six short days, and my schedule was full every day. There was no time for sight seeing.

The City of Seoul is one of the world's largest with a population of nearly 23 million. It is an exciting, busy place where the streets teem with crowds of people and traffic. One morning on the way to the kennel my host stopped at a Starbucks. I was amazed to see there were no parking places; people stopped their cars in the middle of the street to dash in for a cup of coffee while the other drivers honked wildly.

The Korean diet consists mainly of healthy soups with rice and fresh vegetables, sea foods and green tea to drink. Even their sweets have less sugar than we eat. My favorite treat was a green tea cake with just a hint of sugar.

It was a cold time to visit Korea with the temperature hovering at 32 to 35 degrees. But my hosts were very warm, and I was treated like royalty. I flew back to Portland on December 21st.

I’ve been invited to return for follow-up consultation next year. I hope my next visit won’t be in the dead of winter and look forward to seeing more of this fascinating country.