(CN) Dogs provide company for city's lonely souls

[Guest guest]

South China Morning Post

http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZEO9K5U9D.html

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

MARK O'NEILL in Beijing

 

Dog ownership is booming in Beijing as growing numbers of

elderly people living alone and unemployed workers at home all day turn to

pets for company.

 

Figures published yesterday showed the number of new dogs

registered in the capital in the first 11 months of the year was a record

139,631, far exceeding the figures from any previous year.

 

City dog-control officials said most of the owners were elderly

retirees who lived apart from their children and needed companionship.

Another main group was unemployed people or those forced to take early

retirement, who had a lot of time but little money.

 

The number of canines used as guard dogs has fallen sharply as

traditional one-storey homes are demolished to make way for high-rise

hotels, offices and apartment buildings. Most dogs are now domestic pets,

and can cost tens of thousands of yuan.

 

The largest rise in dog ownership was seen in the Chaoyang

district in the northeast, where most of the city's foreigners live and

work. The area now has 28,000 registered dogs, an increase of 5,000 since

last year.

 

A police officer in Chaoyang's dog-control office said the

variety of breeds reflected the rise in living standards, as many of the

newly registered dogs were pedigrees which had been imported from overseas.

 

" Ordinary people raise common breeds, like Pekinese, that cost

from less than 100 yuan (HK$94) up to several hundred yuan. Richer people

who live in villas or expensive park apartments have expensive breeds, some

imported, costing up to tens of thousands, " he said.

 

City regulations passed in 1995 state urban residents can raise

one dog per household, paying a fee of 5,000 yuan in the first year and

2,000 yuan a year after that. In suburban areas, the fee is 5,000 yuan and

then 200 yuan.

 

Large dogs may only be raised in suburban areas.

 

A Beijing secondary school teacher said he now often saw many of

his neighbours out with their dogs.

 

" They talk to their pets and the pets seem to understand them, "

he said.

 

" When I go on trips with one of my neighbours, he does not tell

me about his children or his work but his dog. That is the centre of his

life. "