Yulin, a city in southern China, celebrates the summer solstice by throwing a festival that involves the slaughter and consumption of as many as 10,000 dogs. Not everyone in China supports such practices, however; 65-year-old Yang Xiaoyun, a retired teacher who runs an animal shelter in Tianjin, traveled more than 2,400 km (1,500 miles) and spent more than 7,000 yuan ($1,100 or €990) to save 100 dogs from certain death.

Rumor, a German shepherd and winner of Best In Show at the 141st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, is fed steak at Sardi's in New York, U.S., February 15, 2017. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Poppet, a Bearded Collie, jumps through a hoop during an agility demonstration at a news conference for the upcoming 139th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York February 12, 2015. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Afghan military and officials leave Kandahar city during fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security personnel, in Kandahar, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, August 12, 2021. (Photo by Sidiqullah Khan/AP Photo)

Afghan policemen take position at the site of a suicide attack followed by a clash between Afghan forces and insurgents after an attack on a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, August 25, 2017. Gunmen stormed a Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital while worshippers were at Friday prayers, setting off an explosion that killed a security guard outside and pushing into the shrine, officials said. (Photo by Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

MSP Ash Regan and Lexie take part in Holyrood Dog of the Year on June 26, 2023 in Edinburgh, Scotland. At the annual contest, jointly organised by the Kennel Club and Dogs Trust, members of the Scottish Parliament compete with their dogs and Dogs Trust rescue dogs for the title of “Holyrood Dog of the Year”. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

An Afghan judge hits a woman with a whip in front of a crowd in Ghor province, Afghanistan August 31, 2015. An Afghan man and woman found guilty of adultery received 100 lashes on Monday in front of a crowd who filmed their punishment, TV footage showed. (Photo by Reuters/Pajhwok News Agency)

An Afghan policeman stands guard in front of a French restaurant “Le Jardin” after a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan January 2, 2016. A suicide attack on a French restaurant in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday killed a 12-year-old boy and wounded more than a dozen other people, officials said. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)