A Heartbreaking Discovery Near the County Office

One afternoon, a deputy manager from a county office in Soongheung-si received a troubling report.

Something wasn’t right with a stray dog that had been wandering near the area.

When he called out softly, a black dog slowly appeared from the distance.

Her name would later become Kkamsoon.

But something about her immediately stood out. Her face looked strangely swollen, and she was drooling slightly as she walked. Up close, it became clear that something was terribly wrong with her neck.

A tight leather collar was wrapped around it.

The collar looked far too small.

And the swelling suggested she had been living with it that way for a very long time.

Living With Pain on the Streets

Local residents shared what they knew.

Kkamsoon had appeared in the area nearly two years earlier, already wearing the collar. At first, her condition didn’t look so serious.

But as time passed, her body grew while the collar remained the same size.

Slowly, it began digging deeper into her neck.

Despite the pain, Kkamsoon survived on the streets, finding shelter near the county office grounds. She became extremely wary of people, running away whenever anyone tried to approach her.

Several rescue attempts had already failed.

Each failed attempt made her even more frightened of humans.

But there was one exception.

Video: The Dog Who Trusted Only One Voice — Kkamsoon’s Rescue Story

For reasons no one could fully explain, Kkamsoon slowly began trusting the deputy manager.

He had noticed her suffering and felt deep sympathy for the lonely stray. Day after day, he called out to her gently whenever he saw her.

At first, she ignored him.

But he kept trying.

Eventually, something changed.

One day, when he called her name, she turned her head toward him.

From that moment on, a fragile connection began to form.

He named her Kkamsoon, and every evening before leaving work, he prepared food for her.

He soaked the food in water so she wouldn’t choke while eating. Then he placed the bowl in the spot where she usually appeared.

Soon after, Kkamsoon would quietly come out and eat.

Though she still ran away from most people within five or six meters, she allowed the deputy manager to come as close as two meters.

For a stray dog who trusted no one, that was extraordinary.

A Plan to Save Her

But the deputy manager knew something had to be done.

The collar was getting tighter, and Kkamsoon’s swelling was worsening. Without help, her life could soon be in serious danger.

Finally, a rescue team arrived with a careful plan.

They placed a capture cage in an area where Kkamsoon was often seen. Then they waited quietly as night fell.

Hours passed.

Then, slowly, Kkamsoon appeared.

She hesitated when she noticed the unfamiliar frame, pacing cautiously around it. But hunger eventually led her inside.

At the right moment, the rescue team triggered the trap.

The door closed.

For the first time in years, Kkamsoon was safely secured.

“Kkamsoon… it’s okay now,” the deputy manager whispered softly.

“You can live now.”

A Shocking Medical Discovery

Kkamsoon was immediately transported to an animal hospital for examination.

When the veterinarian saw her neck, the seriousness of the situation became clear.

The collar had actually burrowed into her skin.

The surrounding tissue had begun to die due to severe inflammation. The swelling in her face suggested that the tight collar had already begun interfering with blood circulation and possibly damaging lymph nodes and salivary glands.

The veterinarian acted quickly.

Emergency surgery began immediately to remove the collar.

When the procedure was finished, the truth became even more heartbreaking.

The collar had originally been placed around Kkamsoon’s neck when she was only a tiny puppy — likely just one or two months old. At that time, her neck would have measured only six or seven centimeters in diameter.

As she grew, the collar never changed.

For more than a year, it slowly tightened around her growing neck.

If the rescue had been delayed even a week or two longer, the outcome could have been tragic.

A Miracle of Survival

Despite the pain she must have endured every moment — breathing, eating, even moving — Kkamsoon had survived.

The veterinarian called it nothing short of a miracle.

And the deputy manager’s quiet care had played a huge role.

Without the daily food and attention he provided, she might never have had the strength to endure long enough to be rescued.

A New Beginning for Kkamsoon

After surgery, Kkamsoon began recovering steadily.

When the deputy manager later called the hospital to check on her, the staff held the phone near her.

“Kkamsoon, can you hear me?” he asked gently.

At the sound of his voice, the recovering dog quietly lifted her head and stared toward the phone.

It was as if she recognized the one person who had never stopped calling her name.

Now, the painful collar that once threatened her life is gone.

And Kkamsoon is slowly preparing for a new chapter — one where she can finally live without pain.

Her story is a powerful reminder of how persistence, compassion, and one person’s refusal to give up can change the course of a life.

For Kkamsoon, that kindness meant survival.

And a future filled with hope. 🐾