[부산] 7년간 재난현장 누빈 '충성' 새가족 품으로 (뉴스투데이 2026.07.08 광주MBC)

(Anchor) "Chungseong," a search and rescue dog that has traversed disaster sites over 280 times in seven years, held a retirement ceremony. Having completed its arduous mission, "Chungseong" will now meet a new family and spend the rest of its life as a companion dog. This is Shin Ji-hye, a reporter for Busan MBC. (Reporter) The rescue dog thoroughly searches between large rocks. Even in the pitch-black night, it roams the mountains searching for traces of humans. The rescue dog "Chungseong" has set out to search for a missing elderly person with dementia. "Chungseong" has been dispatched to disaster sites 281 times over seven years since 2019. It has located 16 survivors and missing persons. Rescue Beneficiary / Mountain Ilgwang Accident Last May "I heard the sound of the bell around Chungseong's neck first. I thought, 'Now I'm alive...'" It was deployed to every major disaster site, including the collapse of Gwangju I-Park and the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant. Song Woo-young / Firefighter Handler "Rescue dogs possess a sense of smell more than 10,000 times greater than a human's. A rescue dog itself has the capacity to rescue about 30 people." Rescue dogs usually retire around the age of 8, but 'Chungseong' guarded the scene until the age of 11, which is close to 80 years old in human years. Now, he is handing over his duties to his junior rescue dog, 'Rocky,' and beginning his life as a companion dog. "Chungseong, who roamed disaster sites for seven years, will now spend a comfortable retirement in the arms of his new family." 'Chungseong' is still relatively lucky. Of the approximately 150 retired dogs each year, the adoption rate by the private sector remains at only around 20%. This is because people are reluctant to adopt them due to the burden of veterinary expenses caused by their advanced age. Song Woo-young / Firefighter Handler "Rescue dogs have a sense of smell that is more than 10,000 times greater than a human's. * Yoon Mun-ja / Adopter of 'Chungseong' "I was going to give way if there were others, but since no one else applied for Chungseong, I ended up taking him. Chungseong, go live happily with Mom and your brother." The Busan Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced that going forward, they plan to provide Chungseong with food for life, as well as medical expenses within a certain range. This is Shin Ji-hye from MBC News. #Chungseong #SearchAndRescueDog #Adoption