Living abroad in Beijing can be an exciting adventure, but for animal lovers, the longing for a furry companion can be strong. However, the idea of a lifetime commitment to a pet might be daunting, especially with an uncertain future. This is where Furry Tales‘ foster program comes in.

Elizabeth “Ellie” Rodewald first arrived in China in 2016 to complete a two-year internship in the sunny city of Zhuhai. Little did she know then that a few years later, she’d be running an organization with a heart, with no other goal but to help stray animals living on the streets of Beijing.

Furry Tales’ foster program lets those who want to experience the joys of having a pet without the long – term responsibility. When you foster a pet through this program, you are providing a temporary, loving home for an animal in need. These animals are rescued from the streets and by opening your home to them, you are giving them a chance to thrive before finding their fur-ever home.

One of the significant advantages of fostering is that it helps the animals adjust and get better trained. In a foster home environment, pets can learn basic obedience, socialize with humans and other animals, and become more confident. This training and socialization are crucial for their future lives with their forever families. When the time comes for them to be adopted, these well-adjusted pets are more likely to integrate smoothly into their new homes.

For you as a foster parent in Beijing, it’s a win-win situation. You get to enjoy the companionship of a pet without the worry of what will happen when you have to leave. You can provide love, care, and attention to an animal that may not have had these before. The bond you form with the foster pet can be incredibly rewarding, knowing that you are making a positive impact on their life.

Scan the QR code to get in touch with Ellie to find out which animals need a foster hone So, if you have the space in your heart and home, be part of this amazing journey of helping animals find their forever homes.

If you’d like to donate to furry tales so that they can continue to help animals in need, scan the QR code below.

Images: Furry Tales, Pexels

School’s out, summer’s here and there’s no better time to grow your family than by welcoming in a new furry addition. This Saturday (Jun 22) from 6pm to 8pm, PawsLove will be hosting a free pet adoption event at Beijing Riviera.

PawsLove was founded on Apr 30, 2024, by Yan after she joined a public welfare animal rescue organization called You Me It and adopted a rescued puppy. Since then, she and many volunteers have been involved in adoption, fundraising for shelters, and regularly organizing weekend adoption activities at Beijing Riviera.

Rescuing animals is not enough for Yan. She’s passionate not only about rescuing and relocating animals but also about raising awareness of proper animal training and ownership. PawsLove continues to work with adopters through training courses after the adoption process to ensure that the animals and their owners are in good hands.

The core value of PawsLove is to promote human-pet harmony; not only helping dogs find their forever homes but also supporting adopters through “The New Guide for Dogs to the Family,” “Good Dog Training Camp,” and new puppy supporting teams, so that pets and their human families can live happily ever after.

At the community level, PawsLove advocates that dog handlers, including owners, aunties, and drivers, have the responsibility to manage their pets’ behavior and comply with certain etiquette rules.

In addition to companionship with pet families, Yan also organizes “Read2Paws” activities. By enabling therapy dogs to interact with children or adults in need, these activities can alleviate psychological pressure and encourage children to participate in independent reading activities.

In order to reduce dog biting incidents, the “Dog Detective” course was introduced to the community. This is a highly interactive and free course for primary school students aimed at helping children understand dog body language and learn safe skills for interacting with dogs.

This privately funded organization organizes weekly pet adoption fairs at Beijing Riviera where they welcome animals rescued by shelters and individual volunteers to attend in an attempt to find them loving homes. Children and families are encouraged to volunteer at these events. It is not just the adoption that saves the lives of the animals, but the action of volunteering that also makes an impact on people around us and the community.

PawsLove’s adoption events are a great place for prospective pet owners to meet their future furry best friend. The adoption process is straightforward. After you’ve found the dog or cat the you feel a connection with, you’ll then fill in your digital adoption agreement. The rescuers will then bring the cat or dog to your home to conduct a first home visit, making sure that the animal will be in good hands. After the adoption agreement is signed, you’ll officially become the owner of your new fur baby.

This week’s adoption event is their last one before the summer holiday. Make your way out to Beijing Riviera to meet some adorable animals in need of homes, browse through beautiful artworks at the charity sale, and hopefully meet someone who’ll make your family in Beijing a little bigger.

For those who aren’t ready to make the permanent commitment to owning a pet, PawsLove is also looking for foster families to provide temporary loving homes to these pets until they’re able to find their forever one.

Find it:
Beijing Riviera Clubhouse 香江花园俱乐部
1 Xiangjiang Beilu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区香江北路1号

If you go to any shopping mall like Sanlitun and Solana, you’ll always be able to see some pet shops where tiny puppies are locked in a small glass cages and crying and howling as if they feel suffocated.

Did you know that most of those puppies and kittens are from a breeding factory, a place where parent dogs repeat pregnancy and birth until the end of their lives? After 40 days they give birth to their babies, people take their babies to the pet shop and that’s how the puppies are displayed at a pet shop.

Rather than visiting a pet shop, there is a more animal-friendly way to get a dog, which is an animal shelter, where lots of abandoned dogs live. I met Priscilla Shi, who asks for donations for dogs instead of presents for her birthday and helps one of the animal shelters in Beijing, to talk about the animal shelter and some ways to help abandoned dogs.

How long have you been asking for donations for dogs instead of presents for your birthday?

I’ve been doing the birthday fundraising for this dog shelter since 2018. Every year 3 to 4 days before my birthday, I start asking people for money on WeChat instead of buying me presents, I want them in cash. So, people would actually send me the money or hongbao. The majority of it I donate to this dog shelter that I volunteered at. It’s actually run by my friend. So, I donate partially the money to the shelter and the rest I buy dog foods or send it to the temple where they rescue a lot of homeless dogs.

How much did you raise this past birthday?

Some people give me RMB 50, RMB 100, or RMB 1,000. So, when I started in 2018, I think the total raised money was RMB 4,000. And then this year, two weeks ago I raised over RMB 10,000.

Why did you decide to do that?

It was just all of a sudden, just a weird thought because before. My friends and family members would give me a birthday present that I had no need for; it could be like perfumes, lipsticks, and a weird toy that’s just sitting there and collecting dust. So, that year I actually wanted to raise money for something I really care about. At that moment, when I was in the states, I had adopted a dog. It was just a local animal shelter in Chicago actually a kill shelter, so dogs that don’t get adopted will get euthanasia.

How does the animal shelter work in china? Is there support from the government?

The shelter I have contacted is called Ran Ran’s Courtyard and it’s not supported by the government or any organizations. Ran Ran and her family just started it. Instead of buying dog food, they have to cook for the dogs because the food would be way expensive for 1,000 plus dogs. She just keeps accepting the new dogs; some people drop the dogs by their gate, some people see and bring them in for treatment, and Ran Ran herself sees a lost dog that has no owner.

How many dogs are there currently in the shelter?

They started with 400 dogs and now it’s over 1,500.

Is there a dog adopting system in place at the shelter?

People who usually hear about the adoption mouth to mouth; people spread them among themselves. When they come to the courtyard there are a lot of gates and separate rooms for puppies, senior dogs, and paralyzed dogs. They’re all for free when you decide to adopt, but she checks your background, living environment, and income and follows up after every month in the beginning and after that changes to half a year and once a year.

How much money does it take to run the shelter annually?

For only food, it costs about RMB 2,980,800 annually. With everything altogether including workers, rents, and medical expenses, it’s roughly RMB 4,500,000 a year

How do you help the dogs in the animal shelter?

I visited the shelter in the 2018 summer after I donated. I cleaned the shelter a bit and fed the dogs there.

What’s your ultimate goal for the abandoned dog or the animal shelter?

I want to raise awareness of adoption. Raising a dog is a lot of work, and time-consuming, it’s at least about 15 years of commitment so people shouldn’t just do it because they think it’s the right thing to do. I want people to know that instead of buying a dog, an adoption is also an option. Even if you can’t adopt a dog at this moment, you can contribute to and support abandoned dogs. If there is one person that I can convince to adopt, that would make a huge difference.

Is there a way for people to help support the shelter or get involved in helping?

I transferred all the hongbao to Ran Ran’s account. All the donations can go towards her like food, toys, blankets, and medical bills. Here is the QR code of Ran Ran:

Images: Priscilla Shi

“This was the best day I ever had!” said little David to his mom and dad on Christmas Day four years ago. It was their first Christmas together as a family and they couldn’t have been happier.

Even though it should come as no surprise to see a kid enjoying Christmastime, with all its presents and festivities, it was different for David and his parents, Nicole and Justin Kennedy.

You see, David was adopted from Shanxi Province, where he spent the first five years of his life in a foster home. And although his foster parents took great care of him, having a “forever” home and a real, family Christmas has changed David and his parents’ lives for the better.

In February of 2012, Nikki and Justin moved with their three young kids (ages 5, 3, and 1 at the time) from New York state to Beijing for work.

However, Nikki grew up in the Philippines and remembers her parents talking about adopting a little boy who had lost both of his parents. They didn’t proceed with the adoption because his relatives took him in and he got to stay with his family, but that’s when Nikki learned about orphans and, in her words, “the seed was planed in my heart.” Nikki explained: “I believe we have a human responsibility to care for orphans no matter what our religious beliefs are. My husband and I are Christians, and our hearts have always been open to adoption. We count it a privilege that we can raise a child who couldn’t be raised by his biological family.”

So what made her add another member to their already big family of five?

Nikki says that she knew during her third pregnancy that it was her last one, and that if they were meant to have a fourth child they could adopt since that had always been her desire. The number of orphaned children in China has drastically decreased in recent years.

According to Statista, in 2015 there were 502,105 children living in welfare facilities, with that number shrinking to 193,281 in 2020.  Since China started allowing foreigners to adopt Chinese children in 1992, it has become one of the most common destination countries for those looking to adopt through international adoption. Reasons for this are pretty simple: it’s one of the most stable adoption programs out there, with predictable and affordable costs, making it far less expensive than other international programs.

But what has our fellow Beijing mom’s experience been like?

“There are many advocacy groups in the U.S. and I was surrounded by friends and organizations that help support orphans in China in various ways. I also have many friends who’ve adopted Chinese children. We were not closed to adopting a child in our home country, but after living in China for many years and volunteering at an orphanage, we knew we wanted to proceed with a China adoption.”

In fact, Nikki did a ton of research prior to submitting the application. She read a lot of books on the subject, joined several China adoption Facebook groups and learned from adoptive families who had adopted multiple times from China. “A friend of mine gave me a spreadsheet of various agencies in the U.S. that deal with international adoptions. We knew we had to go through a Hague Accredited agency as there is a strict process to follow.”

The family sent their application in in August 2017, and from there it took a little less than a year to legally adopt David.

Although pretty straightforward, the adoption process has had a few challenges, the greatest one being the wait. It required a lot of patience as, according to Nikki, “it felt like an endless cycle of filling out paperwork and paying fees.” Thorough local, federal and international background checks with a couple rounds of fingerprints were just a step in the adoption process. The process itself consists of different stages and phases, and each part required a form of some sort to be filled out, notarized, and sent to a specific agency in the U.S.

So here’s the breakdown of the adoption process with estimated time frames:

• Application (1 week)
• Dossier Process (2-6 months)
• Home Study (2-4 months, concurrent with dossier process)
• United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS & Dept. of Homeland Security) (12-14 weeks)
• Child Match (time varies)
• Child Assignment (2-4 months)
• USCIS Immigration Approval part 2 (2-4 weeks)
• National Visa Center (NVC) process (2-3 weeks)
• US Consulate Process (2 weeks)
• Invitation to Travel and Planning (2-3 weeks)
• Travel and Completion of Adoption (2 weeks)
• Validation of a Foreign Adoption (varies by state)

Another big challenge was the cost. In the end, the Kennedys paid close to USD 40,000. Thankfully, they were able to cover the costs with some help. As Nikki explains: “We had very generous friends and strangers who believed in what we were doing and donated to our adoption agency to cover some of the fees. We also had a couple of fundraisers.”

When they brought David home in June 2018 he didn’t speak any English, but Nikki and Justin are competent Chinese speakers so it wasn’t a big issue. Within a few months, David transitioned to English and lost a lot of his Chinese, but his parents have been adamant about him not losing it altogether. “We want him to appreciate and hold on to his heritage,” they say. It got a little complicated when they returned to Beijing in September 2018 since, as a U.S. citizen per adoption policy and law, David could not enroll in an international school until his local ID had been canceled. Today, all of David and Nikki’s children (Olivia, 15, Jacob, 14, Owen, 12, and David, 9) attend AISB-Hope International, where they’re finishing the ninth, eighth, sixth, and third grades, respectively. Nikki herself works at the same school, and will be stepping into a new role for the 2022-2023 school year as the head of elementary.

The Kennedys are currently four years post-adoption, and for this stage of their journey, Nikki says that it comes with its own set of challenges: “When we adopted, we knew some facts about our child’s past, which was very helpful. We also knew some things to expect through the many books we read as well as the required adoption courses we took prior to adopting. Yet when faced with reality, no book or advice prepared us fully for what we faced.”

Even though it’s had its highs and lows and has been full of waiting and hoping and expecting, Nikki says that their journey has been amazing and well worth the wait. As she explains: “Adopted children have the same needs as a typical child – they need to feel safe, accepted, and loved. I will continue to focus on loving my son who obviously looks nothing like me, but now feels very much like he belongs in our family.”

Images: Courtesy of Nicole Kennedy

Want to take the family to check out a cool event Easter weekend that’s both fun for the family and does good for the community? Rumble in the Jumble is partnering up with Meet Pets, Furry Tales, and The Lost Puppies for a Ruff n’ Rumble Adoption Day & Bazaar at Tongli Market in Shunyi on Saturday, Apr 16 from 12 – 6pm.

It’s a full day of fun where you’ll meet some furry friends who are up for adoption and looking for a new home.

Another fun feature of Ruff n’ Rumble Adoption Day & Bazaar is the Kids’ Flea Market for dogs where an awesome team of kids will be selling their second hand toys and book to help raise money to for the pups! If your kids would like to join in, there are still spots available. Scan the QR code below to get in touch with Lisa Hwang about a table.

But it’s not going to be only second hand kids stuff available for sale. Like previous Rumble in the Jumbles, there’ll be artisanal snacks, artists, and a whole lot more of Beijing’s hidden treasures just waiting for you to discover and fall in love with.

If you’d like to showcase your crafts as a vendor as well, send an email to rumble.jumble.bj@gmail.com and include the following information:

1: A short bio of your brand and/or description of your products.
2: Four or more photos of your products.
3: If you have any thoughts about how your brand or products can fit this event, be sure to include it in your message.
4: Your WeChat ID.

If you’ve got more questions about how Rumble in the Jumble works, don’t hesitate to contact one of the team members.

Charlotte’s wechat: CharLuminous
Fran’s wechat: Fran_Hanshing
Judith’s wechat: JudithEsmee

Find it:
1 Yufeng Road, Shunyi District
顺义区裕丰路1号

Images: Pexels, Rumble in the Jumble

145 abandoned dogs and three cats are counting on your generosity to keep a roof over their heads in 2022. These are the beneficiaries of the Loyal Dog Shelter in Zhejiang province south of Beijing. Set up and run solely by Aunt Wang since 2018, this shelter is seeking donations to pay its rent for the year.

Aunt Wang tells jingkids that these animals are part of life on earth, and she cannot stand by and do nothing while she sees these furry companions get mistreated or starved. She began rescuing abused and malnourished animals off the streets more than 10 years ago, but when their numbers started exceeding her humble abode, she rented a larger place just for these creatures. Her love and compassion for them are what drives her to continue to do the difficult work of housing, feeding, caring for, and training them, even at 50. If you are in a position to help and are willing, scan the QR code in the poster above to make a donation today.

The dogs and cats at the shelter are also available for adoption. Aunt Wang explains that kind-hearted people from overseas have adopted the pets and had them shipped to their home countries in pre-Covid times. Currently, you can also adopt a dog to Beijing. So if you’re looking for a fur kid, check out some of the friendly furry faces waiting for you at the shelter!

Aunt Wang’s ultimate wish is to “give these dogs a true home where they feel loved.” Add her on WeChat to discuss adoption or other ways you can help by scanning her QR code below.

KEEP READING: How Much Is That Puppy in the Window?

Images: Aunt Wang

Beijing is not lacking in holiday events, but are your pets feeling left out? Is it getting harder to close the door on their sweet little faces as you head to yet another tree lighting or gingerbread baking event? It’s time to take them out on the town!

The International Center for Veterinary Services has always been a great resource for the community, and their holiday party sounds like all – pet owners or wannabes, pet lovers or just kids who need a good snuggle – can have a great time. Everyone who attends gets a present, and if you’re considering adopting a furry friend for your family, this might be a fun way to do it. Pets you already have can indulge in a “REAL Fresh Food for Pets” feast while kids can watch cotton candy being made and then enjoying some!

But what if you want to support and aren’t ready for a new pet? You can still help! Buy a raffle ticket and donate knowing that everything you give helps ICVS Non-Profit Humane Animal Welfare Programs provide medical care for rescued, stray, abandoned, and shelter pets.

When: Sunday, December 13, 2020 (2-5pm)
Where: International Center for Veterinary Services
How: RSVP by Saturday at 5pm: reception@ICVSASIA.com
Dialog WeChat: ICVSASIA
ICVS Official WeChat: ICVSCHINA
Website: www.ICVSASIA.com

KEEP READING: Updated Winter Camps in Beijing and Beyond!

Photos: ICVS and Unsplash

Want to donate a bit of your time to change somebody’s life this holiday season? There are plenty of big hearted animal rescuers in Beijing who’ve given these adorable fur-babies a loving foster home. But, it’s time for them to find their way to their furever home and sometimes that’s not in Beijing, or even in China.

While the regulations on bringing pets abroad varies drastically, we’re going to focus on bringing strays to their furever home in the US – the country with one of the least complicated regulations.

A flight volunteer is someone who’s volunteering their time to bring a dog abroad. The reason being, most airlines will not ship an animal unaccompanied. Someone needs to claim responsibility for the pup the entire duration of the trip.

To sign up to be a flight volunteer is easy. Not only are there plenty of posters circulating around WeChat Moments, there are chat groups specifically for people who want to help take a pup abroad.

But before you sign up, know the facts and details of what it means to be a flight volunteer. This can’t be a last minute decision. Aside from vaccination records, each animal that’s planning on leaving China needs to apply for an export certificate. When approved, the certificate will only be valid for a brief window of 7-10 days. Which means, to be a responsible flight volunteer you’d need to plan your trip in advance.

Prior to your date of departure, you would have been in contact with your Beijing based rescuers and know exactly which pup you’ll be traveling with, which airline you’re flying with and the airline’s regulation, as well as the cost. The cost for traveling with the pup will be covered either by the Beijing rescuers or the US-based rescuers. On the day of your flight, you’ll be met with your travel buddy at the airport (or sooner if possible) and you’ll check the pup in as part of your luggage.

Once you’ve reached your destination, picked up the pup, and passed through customs, hand him or her off to the rescuer on the arrival end.

It’s worth noting that although flyers make it sound like all you need to do is meet someone when you leave Beijing who’ll hand you a pup to check in, it’s not as simple as that. The entire process will take time before you leave and extra time at the departure and arrival airports, as well as when you do arrive.

To be sure, we recommend getting in touch with Mary Peng of IVCS for more information before committing to becoming a flight volunteer. “We are not the rescue organization so we do not always know what the rescue orgs have done or not done. So we advise flight volunteers of essential things to consider, and to understand their rights and responsibilities. We advise all flight volunteers to “trust, but verify”… that the orgs know what they are doing and are acting professionally,” Peng tells beijingkids.

Is the trouble worth giving a pup a chance at a happy new life in the US? Absolutely!

To get in touch with Mary Peng, contact her via WeChat: BrassCupcake.

Photos: unsplash

Over the festive season, we’ll be highlighting some of the organizations and people that give their time and skills to make our city a better place, and looking at what you can do to support them. Spread the spirit of giving these holidays!

China has transformed beyond imagining over a couple of generations, modernizing and developing at a rate previously unseen in history. But in a few areas, old-fashioned ideas persist, and rarely with such sad consequences as in attitudes to disabled children. However, there are many, locals and foreigners, working hard to change attitudes and transform lives. We spoke to Allie Haaz, English-language spokesperson for Bethel China, to find out more about one such organization.

Allie Haaz with one of the children helped by Bethel China

Tell us about the history of Bethel China. How did it start, how has it developed?

Bethel was started 16 years ago by a French couple who were volunteering at a state-run orphanage here in Beijing, teaching piano and music. They saw three children sitting there, who could barely sit up by themselves, who couldn’t talk or walk. They asked the orphanage “Can we teach these kids music and English?” But they said, “No, because those children are blind.”

There is an attitude in China that blind people or children can’t do anything, will never live an independent life, get married, or have children. The big problem is that there are no role models here in China. At the time, the Gauvains were looking for a way to get involved. When they heard this they knew that this was what they were meant to do. So they took those first three children and fostered them directly in their home. They were taking care of them themselves, then they started bringing in more kids, more teachers, more ayis… It grew beyond their small Beijing apartment, into Bethel China!

What are you doing now, and what are your plans for the future?

We are an organization with five centers across China. Four of them are for orphans. These are collaborations with state-run orphanages, which means these are programs run in orphanages where we provide them with educational activities, advocate for them to be adopted (usually by international families), take care of them, and make sure they have a better opportunity for a brighter life.

In Beijing, we have a family presentation center that provides screenings, a preschool for families to attend, and scholarships for the preschool. All this is to encourage families to stay together: we find that when families have resources, they don’t need to abandon their children. So it’s preventative care to make sure children don’t end up in orphanages.

Bethel China provides preschool education for blind children in Beijing

In the future, we hope to have more family training in Beijing. We plan on opening more centers and orphanages so that more children get proper care and we see fewer children that are delayed [developmentally].

How can people get involved? What help do you need, and how can they contact you?

The best way to get involved is to contact me: email allie@bethelchina.com, or WeChat a_haaz. We need volunteers who can come during the school week in Beijing Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm, to teach English and music. We can’t accommodate volunteers at the weekend, unfortunately. But we always have room for volunteers to help with fundraising, organizing events in Beijing to raise funds to provide care and pay the salaries of the teachers and ayis who look after these children so well.

The best way to really help children in need is considering adoption. It’s not for everyone, but it is a life-changing and magical thing. So if anyone is interested in adopting children from China, they can contact me.

What makes your organization different or special?

We really open our hearts to these children who don’t have families. We love these children, our ayis love these children, and the teachers love these children, as much as their own. They go above and beyond every single day to make sure that these children feel loved and are properly cared for.

You can donate directly to Bethel China using the Alipay QR code below:

Photos: courtesy of Allie Haaz