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Dog rescued from Korea discovers hidden talent

Posted at 10:05 PM, Feb 17, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-18 01:05:52-05

A dog given a second chance at life is now returning the favor.

Freya is one of 29 dogs snatched from becoming someone's dinner.

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"She's still a little thin," her owner Greg Wohler said. "You know, the rib cage shows a little tiny bit. Not nearly as much as it did when I got her."

Freya was rescued from a Korean meat farm by the San Diego Humane Society. Wohler's dad was part of that rescue team.

"He sent me a picture of this dog here and, you know, told me a little bit about her," Wohler said.

Wohler lives in Las Vegas, but adopted Freya anyway. It wasn't long before he realized she had a super sniffer.

"She'll just like come up and bring me something in the back yard that I didn't even know we had," he laughed. "Like, 'where did you get that? I didn't even know that we owned one of those things.'"

Now the pair are putting that talent to use. Freya is currently in obedience school, on track to become a search and rescue dog for a Las Vegas police department. Wohler says the training has helped her get over some of the abuse in her past.

RELATED: Dog rescued from animal shelter senses hidden danger, saves owner from fire

"She's blossomed and become more self-confident and is just amazing in every way," Wohler said. "She's so sensitive and so smart."

He believes her whole life, despite the harsh beginnings, has been leading up to this.

"From being rescued herself, to moving, now into, you know, helping other people be rescued," Wohler said. "I mean it's kind of like perfect circle of karma, you know?"

Wohler says Freya still has separation anxiety, but is doing really well with her training. Once she completes basic obedience, she'll move on to more intensive search and rescue training.