RETIREMENT CEREMONY FOR A SPECIAL RESCUER

[Anchor Lead]

A special retirement ceremony took place at a fire station. It was for a rescue dog named "Daedam," that has saved multiple lives over the past seven years. Now this brave dog will retire from the rescue job and spend the rest of its life comfortably as a pet.

[Pkg]

Daedam is nine years old this year. Like any German shepherd, he has an exceptional sense of smell. The canine has been working as a rescue dog since two years old and was deployed 288 times over the past seven years. He found three elderly people lost in the mountains and located two corpses that men couldn't find. Daedam is trained to bark when the missing people are found, but he is smart enough to act in a way that doesn't startle them.

[Soundbite] OH MUN-GYEONG(DAEDAM'S HANDLER) : "He doesn't bark immediately, but signals me to come closer. I think he does that so as to not startle the found person."

But due to old age, he is not strong and agile enough to serve as a rescue dog. With retirement, he now has a new owner chosen through a public selection process. Lee Hyeon-ju is Daedam's new owner. She previously adopted a retired military dog and raised it for five years.

[Soundbite] LEE HYE0N-JU(DAEDAM'S NEW OWNER) : "I made a promise to the retired military dog that I adopted, who passed away a few months ago. That I will continue to look after dogs like him in remembrance of him."

Those attending Daedam's retirement ceremony all wanted him to put down the heavy responsibility of saving lives and live the rest of his life happily as a pet.

[Soundbite] OH JE-HWAN(GYEONGGI NORTHERN FIRE AND DISASTER HEADQUARTERS) : "All of us here are sad, but we congratulate him and want him to live a happy life."

There are 27 active rescue dogs nationwide. On average each one carries out 21 life-saving missions a year.