The enrollment ceremony for Gyeongsan's first "Good Pet" donor is held at Gyeongsan City Hall. [Provided by the Community Chest of Korea, North Gyeongsang Province]
The enrollment ceremony for Gyeongsan's first "Good Pet" donor is held at Gyeongsan City Hall. [Provided by the Community Chest of Korea, North Gyeongsang Province]

The Community Chest of Korea's North Gyeongsang Province chapter held an enrollment ceremony Friday for Gyeongsan's first participant in its "Good Pet" regular donation program, at a meeting room in Gyeongsan City Hall.

The ceremony was attended by donors Kim Han-a, an outside director of the Korea Sapsal Dog Foundation, and her husband Paul Zilka, a foundation ambassador, along with Foundation Chairman Ha Ji-hong, Gyeongsan Mayor Jo Hyeon-il and Son Byeong-il, secretary general of the Community Chest of Korea's North Gyeongsang chapter.

The "Good Pet" program lets donors make monthly contributions of at least 20,000 won ($15) in the name of their pet.

The featured participant is Kingsley (Korean name: Eojin), a Sapsal dog registered as Natural Monument No. 368, who lives with Kim and Zilka.

The Sapsal dog is a native breed of Gyeongsan and a designated natural monument. Its enrollment as a named donor marks a meaningful convergence of local cultural heritage and the growing culture of charitable giving through companion animals.

The enrollment follows an MOU recently signed between the Community Chest of Korea's North Gyeongsang chapter and the North Gyeongsang Provincial Veterinary Association to promote pet-based giving and expand social contribution activities.

"Living with Kingsley has brought us so much joy, and we wanted to share that happiness — and the love so many people have shown us — with the local community," Kim and Zilka said. "As Gyeongsan's first Good Pet, we hope Kingsley's participation in giving will inspire other pet owners to join in."

Mayor Jo said he was honored that the Sapsal dog, a natural monument that has been part of Gyeongsan's history, was now taking part in community giving. "We will work to make Gyeongsan a city where people and animals share happiness together," he added.

Son said the enrollment was a starting point. "We will actively expand Good Pet and other giving initiatives so that the love people have for their companion animals can extend to sharing with their neighbors," he said.


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