The Humane Society International has just rescued 200 dogs from a dog meat farm in South Korea. It was a month-long process that started early February.

HSI/Korea dog meat campaign manager, Sangkyung Lee, and a rescue team arrived to find malnourished and pregnant dogs as well as puppies in small cages with no protection from the bitter cold temperatures.

They convinced the farmer to sign a binding contract, part of their Models for Change program, to permanently close and transition to a more humane livelihood growing cabbage.

Photo: Jean Chung/ For HSI

Nutritious food was brought in to feed the dogs until transportation could be arranged. Rescuers also provided straw to help keep the dogs warm in the below-freezing weather.

Lee and his team continued to check in on the dogs and took those in poor health to a boarding location to be treated.

After weeks of preparation and making sure all of the dogs were vaccinated and in good health to fly, the dogs were loaded into pet carriers and flown out of the country to the United States and Canada to find loving homes.

Photo: Jean Chung/ For HSI

Rescuers with tears of joy in their eyes made sure to reassure the scared dogs that everything was going to be fine as they loaded them onto the plane.

Dogs like Mia who was stuck in a dark cage was finally freed as well as countless newborn puppies. HSI posted a video of a puppy named Max and said, "Max was born on a dog meat farm in South Korea, destined for a cruel, sad, short life. But our team saved Max and is closing the farm. He and his siblings will have a new future as beloved family dogs."

One by one the dogs were transported out of the horrific conditions until there was just one left - Teddy. He was paralyzed with fear and found cowering in the back of his cage.

In a heart-wrenching video posted by HSI, Lee is seen climbing into the cage to gently guide the dog into the pet carrier and to a better life.

Rescuers told him over and over that he was safe and would only experience love from this day forward.

Lee whispered to Teddy, "You don't need to remember everything that happened to you here. It's going to be an amazing start, amazing life from here. We love you."

HSI thanked all of their supporters for their generous donations that made the rescue possible. But their work is far from over...

HSI continues to push for a ban of dog meat trade and consumption in South Korea. They have closed 18 dog meat farms and saved the lives of over 2,700 dogs. A majority of people in South Korea are against the dog meat trade with 84 percent of those polled saying they don’t or won’t eat dog, and almost 60 percent supporting a legislative ban on the trade, shared HSI.

Sign the petition below to urge South Korea to ban the dog/cat meat trade and save millions of lives.