Cork man paid €15k to be reunited with beloved dogs after leaving his Hong Kong home

A WEST Cork man forked out €15k to fund a flight for dogs he had rescued after leaving his former home of Hong Kong.

David Roche from Kealties and his wife Mary Jean Gaje had been on a mission to save as many dogs as possible in the area where they lived. The couple also managed to have a number of illegal breeders shut down during their time in the country.

Veteran strategist David said that while many animals find themselves abandoned due to emigration, he was not about to do the same to his own rescue pets. The West Cork local was relieved to be reunited with the animals recently after a long and stressful journey.

It comes at a time when many rescue shelters in Hong Kong are full to capacity and struggling to cope.

Mongrels Aoife, Amore, Principessa and Tiffany are settling in well to their new home after overcoming considerable adversity in Hong Kong.

The fantastic four travelled from Hong Kong to Frankfurt before finally touching down at Dublin Airport. David spoke about the arduous journey they endured to be with their beloved owners.

“They flew from Frankfurt to Dublin and from Dublin to Cork. Since there was no plane to Dublin on a Sunday, they had to stay two days in Frankfurt where they have a very nice place for transit animals. It’s a kind of nursery for animals.

“They were loaded onto the plane to Dublin before being met by the partner of the Hong Kong shipper. The dogs arrived in Cork on Monday (July 18) and, despite being shook, they were all fine”.

David acknowledged the sacrifices they make for their dogs.

“It wasn’t all about the cost of the dogs travelling, which of course was huge because we’re not rich people at all. To move all our stuff was just as much again. There wasn’t any discussion about whether we would take them. The only discussion was about what route they would take.

“The option of flying to London was also available but in this instance you have to go through immigration for animals and later Irish immigration for animals. This means there is double the paperwork.

“In the end we stuck to the EU. They had to fly to Dublin because the Department of Agriculture doesn’t allow the importation of a dog through Cork. If you want to take a cow into Ireland, you can fly into cork. The same can be said for a racehorse, but not a cat or dog.”

Mr Roche opened up about some of their harrowing stories.

“We rescued Principessa off the side of a mountain after she broke her hip”, he explained. 

“She could have been hit by a car and crawled up there or she could have fallen off a cliff. It’s not something we’ll ever know for sure. Amore, who is around 11, was rescued from a breeder. She was the weakest out of 11 so we took her and the others were rehomed. The biggest worry about rescue dogs is that if you rehome them they could be re-dumped. That’s why we took the weakest one.

“Aoife had been living in a rescue shelter before we adopted her. She didn’t get on with the other dogs and often found herself being attacked by them. Aoife was very unhappy so we knew we had to take her with us.”

Tiffany is also part of their many success stories. She was found on a mountain after a three-month effort to locate her. The mongrel had endured serious injuries after being hit by a car. Tiffany’s owner had been unwilling to take her back or cover veterinary bills.

David and his wife not only adopted her, they also paid for her veterinary bills that included the amputation of one of her legs. Despite her trauma, she is happier than ever after adapting to life on three legs.

Animal cruelty continues to be a disturbing reality in Hong Kong.

“Dogs and cats are for life. If they find themselves in a difficult situation it’s not their fault. Unfortunately, there are so many people leaving the country who are dumping the dogs which means the rescues are full.”

David and Mary Jean’s animals are no strangers to travel.

“We flew 14 rescue dogs to Cork many years ago so it wasn’t something we were unfamiliar with. I knew how well the dogs are treated in the transit facility so this helped a lot. We did try to take the poodle with us but it was too big for the plane. These types of dogs are so dependent on you that removing them feels like cruelty.”

He recalled the moment they were all reunited.

“We were so worried while waiting to see them again that neither of us got a wink of sleep. Eventually, we got the call to say they were on their way home. They almost lost their minds when they saw us”.