'There's no such thing as a bad dog, just a bad owner'

John Grogan, a writer known for "Marley & Me," a bestseller about a dog, said, "There's no such thing as a bad dog, just a bad owner." Korean education broadcaster EBS also airs "There's no such thing as a bad dog," where they find families worried about problematic dogs and give advice on how to solve it. It is surprising to see dogs that never stopped barking and biting change all of a sudden through the help of experts. Since most of the times problems happen because of a person's actions, changing attitudes can lead to a change in dogs.

"Life," an abandoned dog that became popular on social media, appeared at the EBS' program Season 2. The dog was rescued in 11 hours after having been thrown out in muddy streets on a heavily raining day. The dog was found to have been battered and had a brain hemorrhage. Recently again, four residents of a village caught a lost dog and ate it. In Wanju County in North Jeolla Province on Sept. 26, a man was looking desperately for a dog named "Heart," an eight-year-old Old English Sheepdog. He reported its disappearance to police and hung up placards.

Heart returned dead in four days. Investigation results were that residents slaughtered and shared the dog. The family posted a message on a blog saying they felt as if they were murdered and demanded strong punishment. The story spread through online and many netizens posted scathing remarks against them. Iksan Police booked the residents on charges on alleged embezzlement from possession, and is examining if it can additionally apply violation of animal protection law.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday five principles for animal welfare for animals in zoos. They include freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from physical discomforts, freedom from pain, disease and injury, freedom to express normal habits, and freedom from fear and stress. These principles deserve to be applied to pets, too. It is frightening that human beings can go beyond destructing environment, which causes mass extinction of living things, to become the most vicious creature in the globe.