A woman in China was looking for her pet, Belgian Malinois, who was lost but accidentally found almost 200 dogs inside an illegal slaughterhouse in Chengdu and saved them from a brutal death.

Animals Asia, which is a Hong Kong-based charity that works against the animal cruelty in Asia, reported on Thursday that on November 4, the local police raided the illegal dog meat slaughterhouse and rescued 171 dogs. Later, all those rescued animals were sent to the Sichuan Qiming Small Animal Protection Centre for health care and rehabilitation. It was noticed that most of those rescued animals were stolen pets. The authority has taken the initiative to re-unite them with their owners.

On the day of the rescue operation, when police searched the slaughterhouse, they found several dead dog carcasses stacked high in a refrigerated room. That place could not have any certification in support of their slaughtering activities, so the officials arrested five workers of the slaughterhouse.

Irene Feng, Animals Asia Cat and Dog Welfare Director said, "The swift and tough crackdown by the Chengdu police sends a strong message to dog thieves and illegal butchers that they are not above the law. Their cruel trade is breaking hearts as they steal deeply loved companion animals, and their complete lack of regard for laws and hygiene make them a serious threat to wider public health."

The lady, who discovered the slaughterhouse was identified as Peng. When she entered the slaughterhouse her dog, who was also captured there, recognized her began jumping up. While Peng was quite frightened to talk about her dog with the workers, she tried to buy her dog from them. She once left the place to call her husband, but after coming back to the slaughterhouse she found that her dog was already killed. Peng captured the scene and immediately called the police, who later rescued 171 dogs from that place.

The founder of Animals Asia, Jill Robinson MBE said, "Images from the scene of this slaughterhouse are absolutely horrific and have pulled back the curtain on this brutal trade for many people. And it is heartening to see the public, the authorities and local charities all working together to stamp out this cruel industry and do what is right for the animals.

"This rescue wouldn't have been possible without authorities taking the issue seriously and being willing to collaborate with partners in the charity sector. Similarly, without the local charities there would be nowhere to send the surviving dogs, and without an animal-loving public like Mrs Peng, the shadowy slaughterhouse could have got away with their illegal activities for many more years," he added.

In the last decade, many animal welfare organisations have been established in China. While in 2006 the country had just 30 domestic welfare groups, currently over 200 organizations have come in front to combat animal cruelty.