Dear Friends,
If you are thinking about volunteering at our shelter in China or adopting one of our dogs please read Isabelle’s moving account. Isabelle Rose is a dog groomer from Brighton UK who has been volunteering for our charity for some years and this summer made two trips to our base.
Here is her moving account of her visits and experience as a volunteer on site
“Inspiration comes in all forms: some whimsical and heart-wrenching, others formal and astute. Sometimes it whispers rather than shouts, revealing itself only in hindsight. Looking back, I realise it wasn't one defining moment that inspired me, but a lifelong love of rescue that quietly led me to where I was always meant to be.I grew up surrounded by a pack of dogs, little ragamuffins from across the UK who found their way into our home and taught me from a young age that rescue was about far more than giving an animal somewhere to live. It was about giving them a second chance.
That understanding stayed with me throughout my life. Today, I work as a dog groomer; the only way I found to continue working alongside the animals I love .I have two Samoyed posh rescues of my own, and now our family includes JD and Judy, survivors of the dog meat trade whose stories are a reminder that rescue is not just about saving a life but about giving that life back.
But loving rescue from a distance and standing face-to-face with the realities behind it are two very different things.
Before my trip to China to volunteer at the NoToDogMeat base , I was asked a question I'm sure many of you have wondered yourselves:
"How do you prepare yourself to step into a country where the dog meat trade is still active, knowing the reality you may have to face?"
It is a question that carries a lot of weight. We offer our support from afar, send our gratitude to those working determinedly on the ground, and admire their courage. Yet for many of us, there is a natural fear of stepping beyond the safety of distance and into a reality we have only ever witnessed through a screen.
I had been preparing myself mentally, emotionally for a long time, and prior to leaving had a really good cry.Not because I doubted why I was going, but because I knew that once I stepped off that plane, the stories I'd spent years reading and the images I'd seen from afar would no longer belong to someone else's experience. They would become part of mine.
To visit a country where the dog meat trade still exists, you must place enormous faith in those who have walked that path before you. I trusted Julia de Cadenet , the founder of NoToDogMeat, wholeheartedly. She was someone who had taken that same leap of faith decades before me; someone who met fear with courage, held onto compassion when it would have been easier to lose it, and maintained her spirit even in the darkest moments.
Because ultimately, standing witness is not just about seeing suffering. It is about understanding, supporting those like Julia and Mr Zhao who work selflessly and diligently on the ground, and recognising the progress being made towards change.
I had always wanted to visit the base, not only to support the work being done there, but to bring another perspective home with me. One that I could share with you. Perhaps one that doesn't leave you feeling obligated to act, or questioning whether your love for animals is enough, but instead offers a genuine insight into a reality that many of us struggle to comprehend from afar.I can’t speak a word of Chinese, but I do have a heart overflowing with love and kindness; a universal language we can all share.
I know that for many people, there are reasons they feel unable to help. Life is complicated, commitments are real, and not everyone can step onto a plane or stand where I stood. This isn't about measuring compassion by distance travelled or actions taken. It is about recognising that, sometimes, all it takes is the willingness to look closer.When faced with suffering on such a scale, something that feels impossible to change, it can be difficult to truly understand the weight carried by those working on the ground.
What I quickly learned was that rescue is not always found in grand gestures. More often, it exists in the small, practical moments of care that happen every single day.
The conditions at the base may be basic, but love has never been measured by luxury. Reaching it is not always straightforward. The road is frequently flooded, snowed in, or blocked altogether, making it incredibly difficult to deliver essential supplies. The seasons bring their own challenges too, from intense summer heat to freezing winter temperatures. I saw with my own eyes how donations are spent. How funds are stretched like a strand of spaghetti, constantly fixing the electrics, rebooting the net, mixing food with rice, repairing wooden beds. It’s an absolute miracle the team manage to continue. But they do. 700+ dogs and cats rescued, cherished and loved.
With so few people caring for so many animals, every day brings its own challenges. At times, the workload can feel overwhelming, but you would never know it from the team. They don't let the obstacles define them or deter them. They simply keep going because the animals depend on them, and that's all the motivation they need.
I was humbled by acts of kindness that Julia, Mr Zhao and the small team gave me. They went over and above to make sure I was taken care of and given lots of their time, explaining gently how things worked, helping me to understand the challenges, putting aside their own feelings of grief after Yulin to comfort me when inevitably I did break down. I saw first-hand how they continuously put the needs of volunteers, supporters and above all the dogs and cats above their own needs, especially when it came to getting a pup ready for adoption. Sometimes I could see the sheer exhaustion on Julia’s face as she had spent yet another long night at the animal hospital watching over the Yulin rescues before joining us at the base but she never complained. I could see the worry on Mr Zhao’s face as he spoke to the veterinarian about the sick dogs ( and the bills) but he continued to smile at me and reassure me all was well.
Emotionally, it is unlike anything I have ever experienced.
It feels as though everyone is drowning, the dog meat trade exists beyond their walls, yet somehow, they are still holding each other afloat. The NoToDogMeat team carries an unimaginable weight, but they do it together. And the dogs? They are learning to live a new normal. A life they never should have had to fight for, yet one they embrace with remarkable resilience.I wondered what kept them going. Daily life with little resources continues because they have no choice. They hold the lives of the dogs and cats rescued in their hands. If only they had more support I can see how they could do so much more.
I left the first visit knowing I would return and I would not come back empty handed. I was determined not just to be a flight volunteer and bring back dogs for their new owners but to adopt for the second time a pup in need. I had previously adopted Jd ( a little black Chinese rural dog with one eye) and I was determined to give her kennel mate the elderly Judy a home.
When I returned to the base for my second visit, something felt different. The first time, I arrived carrying questions and uncertainty. This time, I returned with memories, familiar faces, and a deeper understanding of the work being done. I also understood the limitations due to lack of financial help and found I could make do happy to be back in my outdoor groom room which was basically an old rickety table and a hose.
I must have groomed over 40 dogs in the few days I was there. For some of them it was their first real contact and hug after being rescued. The temperatures were brutal but I told myself if the dogs can take it so can I.
Matted coats and tangled fur came away in handfuls. Hair was flying everywhere, but beneath it all were dogs finally getting the chance to feel comfortable in their own skin again. I couldn't have been happier in that moment.
Volunteering on site is extremely hard. The harsh weather, the basic conditions, the making do but it is something that helps you grow as a person to leave your own needs behind and be at one with nature and the animals.
Bringing dogs back
Being on the ground whilst final preparations were made to get dogs and cats ready for their new homes I saw first hand the incredible resilience of the team. Multiple long trips to Beijing were required with hours waiting for paperwork. It wasn’t just bureaucracy and cost it was also securing a spot on the aircraft and taking extra time to make the flying pups clean and feel special. These may seem like simple tasks but with the weather conditions, the multiple controls not just for pets but for humans travelling back and forth it was a feat. The first time I came back Julia and the team personally accompanied me to the airport driving in torrential rain, only back at the base early hours of the morning to repeat that trip the next day.
On my second trip I wanted to be independent so I agreed to travel back with Judy - two other pups and a kitty from Shanghai. Little did I know that the road trip alone to the airport would take over 13 hours. This gave me a real sense of just what is involved. Bringing a dog to the UK took nearly 3 days with the ride to Shanghai, the flight and then onward road trip to London. It was so moving how the team would not let the dogs be alone for a single minute even including a wellness check from our french volunteer Eloiza in Paris.
Like I said, volunteering is hard work and when I got home I wanted to sleep for a week. I felt good that I could give back and the gratitude in Judy’s eyes as she too finally found a comfortable bed made it all worth it.”
Isabelle.
If you would like to purchase items from our UK Amazon list here is the link
You can also send us gifts in kind for the dogs directly to our London address
NoToDogMeat Foundation
Unit 326
19 Crawford Street
London W1H 1PJ
Donations are needed to continue our work so please help if you can www.notodogmeat.com/donate
To find out about adopting a dog or cat please visit
https://notodogmeat.blog/2026/06/06/how-adoption-works
thank you everyone
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