Beijing Pets

This is a culture which does not, in general, hold a sentimental attitude towards animals which extends any further than a photo op. At Girls Street, a shopping area for you guessed it, women, I see young things buy puppies long enough to have their picture taken with them in a variety of poses and settings. As soon as puppy does something "bad" such as pee (usually IN the owner's purse) it's beaten, thrown away, or in one case, picked up my Sweet Young Thing's thuggish-looking elderly boyfriend, hit over the head, and tossed away (not even tossed into the garbage can nearby.) A lot of people buy their kids pets, such as chicks, rabbits, and puppies, then "set them free" in local parks, figuring that animals can fend for themselves. I am sure that you understand that, having been raised badly by humans, THEY CAN'T.  In some areas of Beijing there are some alleys the locals don't dare to use due to the packs of feral cats and dogs fighting for their survival there. One of my friends lives in a chi-chi housing complex which was designed for people with disabilities--he has an important job in TV so he got this cushy, government-sponsored flat almost for free--and he was bitching to me about the number of abandoned animals. In the meantime, the fact there's a beggar with cerebral palsy outside guarding Friend's car from dogs peeing on it in exchange for a few small coins does not attract his attention or compassion.

On the flip side, for every little doggie chained up outside the owner's front door, never released, and forced to live in a dark apartment hallway for its lifetime, there is the highly spoiled dog--usually a Little Dog--which is wearing a hand-knit cashmere sweater with ruffles AND sequins, and possibly white go-go boots as well. Some of the local dogs have more extensive, if not better, wardrobes than I do. Their owners take them for long rambling walks--leashless--and usually fall over in laughter if their dog attacks another. I have realized recently that my own pets are a tad on the obnoxious side and have taken back my power as Lead Dog. This does not mean, however, that I am willing to be the poor sucker who takes them to be groomed, which is where they are headed today under Ayi's loving guidance.  (I have to teach.) In a few short hours, they will return, stepping proud and daintily, showing off fresh pedicures and trims and blowouts, and refusing to wear their little coats for fear of ruining the line of their new 'dos.