Smith: Odessa Gunn working to save dogs from Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China

Odessa Gunn of Forestville packs for a trek to southern China in advance of a food festival, the mere thought of which makes her sick.

The retired bike racer and former wife of retired racer Levi Leipheimer leaves Monday on a mission to help rescue dogs from the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in the city of Yulin. Each year since 2009, thousands of dogs are butchered for festival guests, at least some of whom expect healthful results from the meals.

“I can’t believe human beings do this stuff,” said Gunn, a dog lover and veteran animal-rights activist who believes the reports she has read that say many of the dogs consumed each summer solstice in Yulin are stolen pets and are intentionally abused.

“I want to bring more attention to the whole dog torture situation,” she said. “I can’t sleep at night knowing it happens.”

Gunn intends to film her trip. She has posted an online crowdfunding appeal at gofundme.com/theunsungheroes.

She hopes not to attend the festival in Yulin but instead stay at a shelter some distance away that will house dogs rescued from the festival and slaughterhouses by activist Marc Ching.

“I’m trying not to go to the festival,” Gunn said, “but I will if Marc needs help.”

Protests and appeals from people around the world have prompted government officials in Yulin to ban the sale of dog meat there a week before the festival, which begins June 21.

Some of those outraged by dog-meat fest say they suspect it will go again this year despite the ban.

Gunn figures more pressure is needed to assure the Yulin festival will stop killing dogs, and she feels called to help apply that pressure.

She knows the trip to China could be perilous and she’s grateful that friend Clint St. Martin, a Marine Corps veteran, will travel with her.

She plans to bring home as many dogs as she can, which looks to be about 10. Other dogs rescued from China will be taken by rescuers to other parts of the world.

Gunn intends to deliver dogs to Compassion Without Borders in Santa Rosa for observation, any necessary medical care and then adoption by local families.

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TERRORISM TALK: As we recoil from terror attacks around the world, a rare opportunity arises Sunday for perspective and analysis from a neighbor who’s become an expert on ISIS.

Penngrove native Brian Fishman will speak Sunday afternoon at SRJC’s Petaluma Campus.

Fishman graduated from Petaluma High two decades ago and managed foreign policy for former Rep. Lynn Woolsey of Petaluma en route to becoming an authority on counterterrorism and the origins and objectives of the Islamic State.

Late last year, Yale University Press published his book, “The Master Plan: ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Jihadi Strategy for Final Victory.”

Fishman will speak at ?3:45 p.m. Sunday in the Petaluma campus’ Carole L. Ellis Auditorium. Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com.

His talk is a benefit for the Literacyworks Center, a nonprofit close to former Congresswoman Woolsey’s heart that helps low-income, low-literacy adults overcome the barriers to enhancing their lives and occupational prospects through improved literacy.

You can reach Staff Writer Chris Smith at 707-521-5211 or chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.