Wang Yan, 29, rescued over 5,000 abandoned or soon-to-be slaughtered dogs in the past three years, ever since he set up a rescue center in Changchun, a city in northeast Jilin province.

Over the past three years, Wang has spent nearly 3 million yuan on the dogs. “I have always liked dogs because they are very loyal to humans,” Wang explained.

Most of his rescued dogs are from Hebei province or Tianjin municipality, where, due to the climate, they cannot survive winter while living outside. To solve this problem, Wang asked for help from his uncle who studied traditional Chinese medicine. Wang tried each treatment on himself before administering anything to the dogs. He was hospitalized several times for allergic reactions.

In addition to time and energy, Wang has spent all his savings on the dogs. Food alone costs him 1,000 yuan ($153.6) a day. However, as a matter of principle, Wang refuses to take monetary donations from other people.

“I am thinking about building a kennel this winter. If people really want to pitch in, I hope they can donate some construction materials instead of money,” Wang explained.