There’s no answer to how Asian H3N2 canine flu arrived in North America, but importation of infected dogs seems likely. There seems to be quite a bit of dog movement from Korea to the US, as highlighted in a couple of articles below. There’s no way to know for sure, but well meaning yet unregulated dog “rescues” are probably a leading candidate for how the virus got here in the first place. January 2015: Twenty-three dogs rescued by Humane Society International from a dog meat farm in Seoul arrived in Washington, DC… As for the rescued dogs, after some quarantine time and health checks, and some additional socialization, they will begin the final leg of their journey: finding homes. Some dogs will stay at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, which coordinated the shelter placement of the dogs here in the United States. Snowball and several other dogs will go to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, and still more dogs will head to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, the City of Manassas Animal Control and Adoption Shelter, Loudoun County Animal Services and the Washington Animal Rescue League. HSI, the international affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States, is working to reduce the dog meat trade in Asia, including South Korea, where dogs are farmed for the industry. HSI hopes to work with more South Korean dog meat farmers to help them transition out of this cruel business. March 2015:  Fifty-seven dogs and puppies have been rescued from a dog meat farm by Humane Society International and Change for Animals Foundation in South Korea. The dogs are now on their way to new lives in Northern California. HSI flew the dogs to San Francisco to be evaluated and treated for medical issues at the San Francisco SPCA. Some of the dogs will be transferred to additional HSI Emergency Placement Partners, including—East Bay SPCA, Marin Humane Society and the Sacramento SPCA. After a brief quarantine, they will be evaluated, spayed and neutered, treated for any medical issues, and made available for adoption. It will be at least two weeks before adoptions are possible. These are probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to importation of dogs from Asia.