Winnipegger helps Canadian bring 13 petfugees to Vancouver

It's a one-woman mission to save her rescued Korean pets, and as time runs out, Katherine Hall is enlisting the help of some frequent flyers.

"Iron Man is exhausted but good," said Anthony Kaschor, a friend of Hall's who currently lives in Seoul. He dropped off a cat in Vancouver on his way to visiting family in Winnipeg. "It took him the whole flight to warm up to me. Then once we got here, I had to pass him on again."

Iron Man is the first of 13 "petfugees" bound for Canada. After nine years in South Korea, Hall is moving back to Vancouver and plans on keeping all the animals she has acquired while abroad.

"I love them," said Hall, "But also, I've put a lot of effort into keeping them this long, and it just would be strange for me to leave them here or re-home them at this point. They have their own bonds. Some of them don't love me that much, but they love each other."

Other Korean cats packing for the trip are Valentino, Miko, Mini, Charles, Jackie, Ninja, Hidey, Gizmo and Raisin, who is a cat but acts like a dog, and Ninja, who is a cat but thinks he is an actual ninja. Roxy, Minnie and Viva are the three "actual" dogs making the journey.

"They were kind of fixer-uppers but totally worth it," said Hall, who over the last five years has personally fostered 70 animals in South Korea.

She kept the ones that were too old or had health complications, but when she went back to grad school, she had to draw the line.

"It was too hard to actively look for these homes, and it was easier for me to keep some of them, so I just threw a line under it and said, 'Whatever's in the house is adopted. No more fostering,' and I haven't fostered since that time," she said.

Hall has a reputation among her friends as a pet hero.

On top of her fostering, she volunteered for several years with an animal shelter and even learned how to administer medication to take care of some of her sick fosters.

"I agreed to do this because she has helped so many others with their pets and rescued so many animals," said Kaschor, who gave up some valuable leg room on the flight to Vancouver. "I wanted to do some good, especially because my own pets are rescues."

Hall is close to securing a few more flights for her pets, which just goes to show it helps to have friends in high places as even a few shipping companies are helping out.

"I won't fail at it because I really want them all to come with. I'll find a way no matter what," she said.

Hall plans to have everyone moved to Vancouver by mid-September.