NY Shelter imports stray dogs from China

Why? Doesn't New York have enough stray dogs?

The 30 dogs from China that arrived at Kennedy Airport last night en route to the North Shore Animal League shelter in Port Washington may present an added challenge to potential new owners - they don't understand English.

The canines' journey from Beijing to New York began Monday, when they left their overcrowded shelter and boarded a plane bound for Amsterdam. After resting up in an airport pet hotel, they continued the trip last night, and arrived in New York shortly after 9 p.m.

The dogs - including Pekingese, Dalmatians and Basset Hounds - were brought to New York for a variety of reasons. Residents in the Chinese capital face strict rules on dog ownership - including a prohibition on 40 breeds. As a result, the shelter now holds about twice the number of dogs and cats that it can comfortably accommodate. In stepped the Cape Cod, Mass.-based International Fund for Animal Welfare, which arranged for the dogs to be relocated to New York, where the North Shore Animal League will arrange for them to be adopted by local families. ... more