Super Junior's Heechul came under fire for his remarks on JTBC's new variety program 'Pet-kage'.
On August 26th, JTBC's new entertainment program 'Travel Battle - Pet-kage' premiered. Heechul was one of the four MCs including Taeyeon, Kang Ki Young, and Hong Hyun Hee on the show.
After reading the letter from one of the pet owners, MC Heechul commented, "It's really admirable to adopt a dog from a shelter. Frankly speaking, pet experts won't ever recommend adopting a rescue to a first-time dog owner." He continued, "Rescues take a long time to heal and adapt because it was hurt before. Then the owner who isn't used to dogs gets hurt and the dog would get hurt once again."
After the show, some viewers were upset by his comment and shared their thoughts online. Some of the comments are: "Rescues are already facing adoption issues because of such stereotypes and stigma. A first-time dog owner would have a hard time whether or not he buys or adopts because he doesn't know any better. His comment shouldn't have been broadcasted on TV."
"He made a careless remark. Not all rescues are unfriendly. I adopted mine from the shelter but she is so friendly, bubbly, and amicable."
"While I do understand he wanted to praise the owner for adopting, but he chose wrong words. I mean, which expert never recommends adopting?"
"He is a celebrity. He should know his influence on people. I'm not forcibly telling all people should adopt but at least he shouldn't have said something that could encourage buying them off of shops..."
What do you think about this situation?
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Heechul's making a generalization, yes, but you have to step back and see the bigger picture. First-time dog owners don't have the experience to handle a dog that could have severe depression, PTSD, or aggression following past incidents in its life in which it suffered at the hands of other people. Heechul never said that you shouldn't ever rescue a dog from a shelter. He merely wishes for pet owners to be responsible and knowledgable when it comes to dogs with possible behavioral issues and trauma. It's not easy to expect this for first-time owners, and many first-time owners return "troublesome" dogs to shelters all the time. There are far too many inexperienced pet owners who give up their pets or have them put down because they are too much work. He only wants these dogs in safe and capable hands.
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