Today—March 23, also known as International Puppy Day—might hold a little extra meaning for ENHYPEN member JUNGWON, who welcomed the once-abandoned dog Maeum into his heart one year ago. His love for his canine friend has only grown stronger as the number of photos of the pup on his phone has increased. He thinks of Maeum on his days off and wants to share how his dog is doing with fans. We asked JUNGWON about taking in a new member of his “family,” as he now refers to Maeum, and his love for this fluffy new member.

The first encounter

JUNGWON: Maeum was an abandoned dog who we adopted. My sister and my dad went there very early in the morning to pick him up. He was only four months old when we got him and he was in unbelievably bad shape. His tear stains were so bad that I was sure he was a four-year-old dog. But as my sister put medicine around his eyes and trimmed the fur away, he looked younger and younger. (laughs) It was nice the way his fur became whiter and prettier the more we took care of him. The last time I saw him was in January, but he’s eating better now so he’s doubled in size.

Two hearts become one

JUNGWON: Since he was going to live with us forever, we wanted to get a puppy that had lived through hard times. People used to call such animals pets, but now it’s changed and we say “companion” animals. I think our family was leaning toward an abandoned dog because we would be living together as a family. Actually, even before adopting Maeum, I worried about the trauma that the abandoned dogs they show on TV experience. Maeum gets scared when he’s in the car or goes out, too. It really seems like he had some kind of traumatic experience involving a car. So we try to take him on a lot of trips and my dad gets up early to go on walks with him. Even when I’m not there, my family gives him treats in the car and we’re trying hard to erase any bad memories he has. I think Maeum is getting over them thanks to that. What’s interesting is I feel like Maeum already understands how we feel toward him. When we were playing around and he bit me slightly, he stared quietly at me with wide eyes when I showed pain, like he was sorry. If I’m playing fetch with him and then get tired and lie down, Maeum comes right up to me and just lies down next to me, too. It’s cute and interesting the way he understands my feelings and tilts his head in reaction to words he knows like “treat,” “walk” and “hyung,” but there’s no way for me to know exactly what he wants. So I wish there was some way I could teach him how to express himself for things like “I’m hungry” or “I’m sick.”

Family

JUNGWON: Everyone says that raising a dog is like getting a new family member. I could never understand that saying before, but I sort of get it now. My family used to be the five of us all living together, but I think Maeum fills in for my absence now. It makes me feel a lot better. It’s also cool to think that however old Maeum is, ENHYPEN’s that old, too, since they’re the same age.

Spending time with Maeum

JUNGWON: I’m Maeum’s favorite in the family. He jumps all over the place super excitedly whenever I go home. Even though he hasn’t seen me that much, he follows me everywhere I go, and they say he sits at the door for an hour when I come back to ENHYPEN’s home. I try to spend all my time with him when I go to my family’s home knowing that’s how he feels—giving him treats, playing with him, sleeping together. But it gets cold if we sleep together. Maeum loves to steal the blanket and I have to let him have his way. He even takes up my whole pillow, and he runs away with all my socks—to the point that I have to go back home and get new ones. But I can tell how much he likes me, so it all comes across as cute. Even just playing with Maeum is a kind of break to me. I took a really nice walk with Maeum in the snow during the winter. It was almost the first time he’d ever been in the snow. Maybe the third time? So I could see how excited he was. He walked around in the snow awhile, and then later, when his feet were freezing, he just stood there with one paw up, asking to be picked up. That was so cute.

Taking care of Maeum

JUNGWON: I spend a lot of time choosing the best pictures of Maeum to post on Weverse. Maeum knows when he’s having his picture taken now. He’ll avoid the camera as soon as I tell him I’m going to take a picture. I had fun looking through all Maeum’s photos with my sister, picking out the best ones to upload. She takes care of Maeum the most out of everyone, and even picks out clothes to buy for him. He’s got so many—for outside and inside. Interestingly enough, he knows he’s going out when he’s got certain clothes on. They say human food is really bad for dogs, too, so he’s got his own dog yogurt at home and I want to get him some healthy treats for his birthday, like dried pollack. Actually, when I go to my family’s home, they give Maeum as few treats as possible, because I give him so many. I think that might be part of the reason he likes me more. (laughs)

To people thinking about living with a dog

JUNGWON: If you just have a fleeting feeling about how you like dogs and you’re not confident you can raise one forever, I recommend you think it over a little more. I can’t always be with Maeum either, of course, but raising a dog means you have to love them a really long time, and you have to keep taking care of them even if you feel like you’re not good enough at it or if you need to make some sacrifices. I heard that, in many cases, the reason dogs end up abandoned is that their owners have financial problems or the dog gets sick and the person gives up on them. And it’s for that reason that I want to say the following: Think carefully first, and learn more about it. You need to look up ahead of time to have any idea how hard it is to raise a dog.

To puppies celebrating International Puppy Day

JUNGWON: Happy Puppy Day, puppies. Don’t have too many treats, don’t bite your owners, don’t stay in bed too long, take a lot of walks, and I hope you live a long, healthy life. Stay happy, stay healthy. And since Maeum was abandoned and already had to suffer once, I hope we’re together a long time and he never has to feel any more pain again. Maeum, the vet says you’re a normal weight now, so how about we lay off the snacks a bit. You’ll shake off that trauma if we take more walks and trips, so let’s do it together.