Dogs rescued from Thailand seeking forever homes in Delco

MEDIA, Pa. (WPVI) -- If you're looking to adopt a new dog, how about one from Thailand?

It sure makes for a great ending to an even better story.

Five puppies are now up for adoption at the Providence Animal Shelter in Media, Delaware County.

Their 9,000-mile journey to Media all started with a woman with a big heart.

"There is a wonderful lady named Raquel, who lives in New York, and she went and visited Thailand recently, and she was just overcome with sadness for the lives that these dogs are living," said Justina Calgiano, Providence Animal Shelter.

So she paid a lot of money to get them on a plane and shipped here.

"Out of her pocket, spent up to $5,000 to board these dogs, get them their necessary vaccinations and vetting, and got them over to us. So our job now is to find them forever homes," said Calgiano.

Had she not, these guys and gals probably wouldn't have lived much longer.

"They were all street dogs and they were at risk of being killed, very horrible deaths, whether it's being intentionally run over, poisoned, picked up by illegal meat traders," said Calgiano.

After a little time and TLC at the animal center, it's up to someone to take them home.

"We hope at the end of this week, after they're spayed and neutered of course, they'll get microchipped and we'll just give them time to adjust to this very big change that they've under gone," said Calgiano.

"So they understand English at all? I'm sure there are some kind of barriers," asked reporter Bob Brooks.

"You know the universal language for dogs is love, and there's a lot of love here at Providence, so they are acclimating pretty well to us, because they know it's only safeness here and it's all good," said Calgiano.

The shelter closed at 5 p.m. Sunday, but you can come back Monday and check the dogs out.

If you don't think they're right for you, they have plenty of other dogs and cats waiting for a new a home.

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