A Dog's Life in China

In today's China, canines live in every imaginable situation, from the lap of luxury to dire straits. Here are 15 remarkable photographs of country dogs and city dogs, strays and pets, ladies and tramps.

FEBRUARY 12, 2010

A bird seller sits by his pet dog waiting for customers near Tiananmen Square ahead of the 2008 Olympics on Aug. 5, 2008, in Beijing.

Kristian Dowling

All photos and captions via Getty Images

 
 

FEBSTOREAD

4:57 PM ET

February 15, 2010

masters wishes?

I will always wonder if the dog likes to follow their master life or it is just a survival instinct? :P will have to wait until the pet mind reader hehe...

Regards,
chi ceramic iron

 

DUTCH JUSTICE

8:36 PM ET

February 15, 2010

...

Woof.

 

SLIPTIP

11:25 AM ET

February 16, 2010

What a disgusting way to

What a disgusting way to treat such noble and intelligent animals. Just another reason not to buy anything made in China if you can avoid it.

 

FP2010

1:51 PM ET

February 24, 2010

noble intelligent creatures are killed in almost every country

This might be true, but it's always easier to condemn others and not see what's happening in your own backyard. If you are a vegetarian, i commend you, if not, you are also supporting the cruelty toward animals. You may not see it up-close, but it's happening.

The way pigs, cattle, horses, dogs, chickens are treated in the US is equally appalling. You just have to see a movie like Food Inc. to get a more detailed perspective. Here's an example of abuse in the US: http://www.inhumane.org which may very well exceed that of China.

Intelligent animals are killed all the time all over the world for fur, meat, etc. While killing a dog for meat can be cruel, it is equally so for the intelligent pig, which is more common worldwide. An article about pig intelligence: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/10angier.html

It can be argued that pigs are equally or more intelligent than dogs, although not bred for loyalty.

 

ESTRANGEIRA

2:14 PM ET

February 27, 2010

I would really like to know

I would really like to know what makes an animal "noble". Is it their ability to kiss your ass?

 

DONCLAAS

10:32 AM ET

February 20, 2010

Nice

Which kind of dog is it? Chihuahua or Havaneser?

Funny chinese people...

 

ANNIESH

1:03 PM ET

February 25, 2010

I like all

I like all the pics posted here. Mainly the dogs are soo cute. They are one of the faithful animals.
Ylod

 

MICKEYY

8:58 AM ET

February 27, 2010

Dog's Life in China

I totally agree with every word you wrote about the do's life in china

Mike parker

 

WHATLSC

2:58 AM ET

March 2, 2010

I think the author shows us

I think the author shows us various types of people's lifes in China by focusing on dogs' lifes in China.Dogs dressed up well and trained well suggests people rich and noble.Dogs outfitted with wheelchairs suggests the handicapped after that terrible earthquake.Dogs travel from one place to another suggest thousands of migrants in China.The sniffer dog does the same thing as his master to ensure safety.The dog in the temple plays in harmony with the monk,they are ones live in peace.
Apparently,a tiny amount of people misunderstand the main ideas and try to condemn China on humanitarian.In fact,Chinese rarely eat dogs,and most fur dosen't come from real animal because most people just couldn't buy it.Compared to the West,China is the last one to blame.

 

TYPO

8:18 AM ET

March 2, 2010

Why is eating dogs or making

Why is eating dogs or making fur from them wrong when it's ok to make them out of cows?

The idea that dogs are different from any other domestic animal essentially comes from them being arbitarily assigned a high position on some sort of animal hierarchy by western culture. If China was to eat a million dogs tommorow it would be no less civilized than any other nation for it.