A group of 31 dogs rescued from meat breeding farms in China arrived in the US to begin their new lives in American homes, an animal welfare group said Tuesday.

The pack of rescued pooches were the first to arrive in the US in over a year, due to a temporary government ban on importing canines from abroad that was sparked by fears of a rabies outbreak, according to the China Rescue Dogs organization.

“To know these dogs now have a second chance at life and will experience love for the first time, makes all the time spent on a project like this worthwhile,” the group’s Vice President, Brandy Cherven, said in a press release. “They were being sent to the slaughterhouse when we stepped in and saved them.”

The dogs were rescued April where owners were planning on selling them to slaughterhouses and the Yulin Dog Meat Festival.

Over 10 dog rescue organizations aided in the effort to bring the pups to the US. They spent the last three weeks in Vancouver, Canada waiting for approval to cross into the US.

Sixteen of the dogs are Golden Retrievers and 15 are Frenchies and Pugs, the group said. They did not give details on what the future holds for the dogs, but the group makes efforts to “provide them with loving homes,” they said on their website.  

“This truly was a global effort with teams from China, Canada and the United States all coming together to save these dogs from slaughter,” Jill Stewart, President and Founder of China Rescue Dogs, said.

The CDC’s dog ban was due to an increased risk of the canine rabies virus variant. During this period, organizations like China Rescue Dogs brought their furry friends into Canada to be adopted. Canada’s own ban on dogs — restricting street dogs from over 100 countries — will kick in Wednesday Sept. 28.