A flight full of dogs rescued from East Asia will soon touch down in the U.S. after the animals escaped imminent death at the hands of slaughterhouse operators.
Forty-six pups have been saved from slaughter by the New York-based American rescue organization No Dogs Left Behind.
The flight is scheduled to land at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport this week, and then 32 dogs will be delivered to adoptive families across the U.S. that have patiently waited for the pups to arrive.
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The remaining 14 dogs rescued are still available for adoption.
Fox News Digital spoke with No Dogs Left Behind founder and president Jeffrey Beri about this rescue. It's the first since the CDC’s import ban on live animals due to high rabies risk in some countries of origin.
Beri said the ban hasn’t stopped his organization from pushing forward and saving the lives of innocent animals, utilizing their capabilities to rehabilitate and vaccinate dogs.
"There have been endless delays in the dogs coming [here], so it’s really a nail-biter," he said.
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"We’re working feverishly with our teams."
"These have been ongoing issues that we've had," he went on. "But we lick our wounds and we roll up our sleeves and … we work together and, ultimately, the dogs make it home."
Beri revealed that many of the dogs that have been saved are small "designer dogs" such as Pomeranians.
This round-up of rescues happened throughout different areas of East. Asia, Beri added.
The rescue organization, founded in 2016, fights for global animal welfare laws.
The pups were saved from dog traffickers at slaughterhouses and truck interceptions — some "just seconds" away from being slaughtered, he also said.
The rescue organization, founded in 2016, fights for global animal welfare laws and has a goal of ending the dog meat trade.
"Our motto is that rescue has no borders," Beri said.
He continued, "Our forte is fighting on the front lines in the worst possible regions of the world — in the harshest and most dangerous places."
Beri detailed just how dangerous some of these rescues can be, adding that his No Dogs Left Behind volunteers on the ground have been in physical altercations with animal abusers.
"As long as I can breathe, walk and talk, we will not stop evacuating survivors. Mark my words."
The organization relies on East Asian volunteers to carry out these rescue missions on the front lines, according to Beri.
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Interceptions and dog retrievals involve gathering intelligence, sending up surveillance drones and physically surrounding suspicious facilities, the founder said.
"These butchers … They’re ferocious," he said. "We’ve had hand-to-hand combat … We’ve had butchers throwing dogs out of trucks."
Beri reiterated how "ruthless" some of the butchers can be, a situation that has required days of preparation on the rescue organization's end to intercept a transport truck or to gain entrance to a slaughterhouse.
No Dogs Left Behind refuses to pay slaughterhouses to gain possession of the dogs, he noted.
"Paying for one dog kills 10 more," he underscored. "You’re only promoting this behavior."
The dogs that are lucky enough to be rescued are often in poor condition — and are first sent to be rehabilitated.
"You can imagine that they've been beaten and tortured. So, it takes time for them to trust humans again."
"They're in dying condition," Beri said.
"They're being treated for infectious disease. They have to be sterilized"
"They’re snapping, biting. You can imagine that they've been beaten and tortured. So, it takes time for them to trust humans again."
No Dogs Left Behind will be opening its Canton, New York, facility on March 1, which will house up to 500 dogs and include park space along with rehabilitation and training facilities.
The organization has some facilities in East Asia, as well as partner shelters in Ukraine and Afghanistan.
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Although Beri sees the rescue movement "changing" for the better, he is calling for "more pressure" on foreign governments, and our own, to end "reckless slaughtering."
"I see light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
"We need to assure that there are some protective measures in place and countries need to be held responsible for their behavior," he added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a department in the U.S. Department of Agriculture tasked with animal welfare, for comment on U.S. efforts to protect animals in danger of slaughter.
Beri shared that this major mission is one of many to come.
"We will never stop," he said. "As long as I can breathe, walk and talk, we will not stop evacuating survivors. Mark my words."
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No Dogs Left Behind is a 501.c.3 organization.
For more information, anyone can visit nodogsleftbehind.com/adopt.