Pack of Kidnapped Dogs Escapes the Butcher in China
A small pack of dogs were spotted walking together this month along the highway in Changchun, the capital of China’s north-east Jilin province. According to multiple media reports, it appears the seven dogs had escaped from kidnappers who were taking them to a dog-meat shop.
The purposeful, tight formation of the dogs walking together – captured on video by a passerby named Lu here – has been seen by hundreds of millions of viewers on social and traditional media. The motley pack included a golden retriever, labrador, German shepherd, and Pekinese – all being led by a corgi, later identified in Chinese media as Dapang, or “big fatty.”
Lu told mainland Chinese media outlet Dahe Daily: “They resemble a band of little brothers in distress, moving in unison – nothing like stray dogs.” The band eventually covered over ten miles – some of it in freezing temperature and a brief snowfall – to return to their home village.
Local dog rescue Bitter Coffee Stray Dog Base reported that the dogs came from the same village and have been known to roam freely together in the past. The rescue sent volunteers (and at least one drone) to track the dogs and get them home. All are now reportedly back with their owners.
A few dog-meat restaurants still operate in northern China, but dog farms are rare. Dog-meat shop owners usually rely on strays or stolen pets to stock the shelves. Some cities – Changchun, Harbin, Dalian – have reported many incidents of pet dogs being stolen.
The story of the dogs’ daring escape might be too good to be true, according to the Jilin province culture and tourism bureau. By their account, the dogs had most likely wandered off on their own, with the pack maintaining a tight cohesion not out of solidarity but because the German shepherd was in heat. State media warned that the incident “reflects the shortcomings of online information dissemination – a mixture of true and false information, where subjective speculation is easily taken as fact and spread.”
Or perhaps state media would prefer to stifle information that reflects badly on the state – such as dogs being kidnapped for food. We’ll stick with the daring escape story.
Photo credit: mp.weixin.qq.com
