(CN) Stray mutt's story a doggone shame

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China Daily

http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-12/01/content_286054.htm

2003-12-01 07:57:28

 

A dog sent to rural Fangshan to escape a police ban broke away from

its new owners and returned to its home in urban Beijing after 54 days.

 

Residents in the neighbour-hood of Zhongguancun in Beijing's Haidian

District could not help but shed tears when they saw the bedraggled pooch

outside their homes last Monday.

 

" I knew it was him when I heard barking coming from outside while I

was cooking in the kitchen, " said an elderly woman surnamed Chen.

 

Known as Dahuang, or Big Yellow, the once-healthy animal was standing

at the doorway. His body was gaunt and skinny, with a wound on the front

left paw and a swelling on his back apparently caused by a stone. Fur that

used to be golden was now matted and black.

 

The animal could not stand up after entering Chen's home, collapsing

from exhaustion.

 

Chen was not its only master. The dog was a stray three years ago when

it first showed up in the courtyard fronting several residences. After Chen

and a few neighbours fed him, the dog took to them as its masters and the

neighbour-hood as its home.

 

The dog was fed by the neighbours until one day some other dog owners

protested and called the police.

 

They complained Dahuang was a threat to their pets' health, and though

the police failed to catch the dog, the temporary masters decided to send

Dahuang to Fangshan, where medium-sized dogs are allowed to be raised.

 

In Beijing, medium-sized and large dogs are not allowed to be raised

in urban areas to avoid possible attacks on humans. And all dogs in the city

must being vaccinated.

 

The police refused to make an exception to the regulation, and the

good-hearted neighbours have sent the dog back to Fangshan.