Hot Dogs

by Florence Dinar

Zhang Yan knows everything there is to know about Pekinese dogs. "When I look into a dog's eyes, I can tell if it is sick, depressed, or in love," he says.

Zhang is director of the Beijing Pet Hospital north of the Third Ring Road, one of three pet hospitals in the capital financed by the government. Since 1992, when Chinese vets had their realm of activity expanded from dealing only with animals in quarantine to being able to treat household pets as well, Pekinese have become among the most frequent visitors to the hospital. Their growing popularity with Beijing residents is yet another indicator of the rising affluence of the Chinese middle class, who pay anything from 100 to 40,000 yuan for one of the little yellow creatures.

Archaeologists have found remains of the Pekinese in tombs dating back 2,000 years. They believe that in ancient times the dog was thought to be an incarnation of the Door Guardian god. It represented wealth, and ultimately became the exclusive property of the upper class.

From the Tang Dynasty until the Qing, only the imperial family, nobles and ministers could raise Pekinese dogs. The common folk faced severe punishment, and possibly death, for daring to do likewise. The imperial dogs were bred with curved legs to keep them from running too fast from their masters, and hair was encouraged to grow around their feet so that they would tread silently while the Son of Heaven was sleeping.

When the Anglo-French forces entered Beijing in 1860, they captured a few of Dowager Empress Cixi's Pekinese at Yuanmingyuan, the old Summer Palace. They were taken back to England to be offered to Queen Victoria, who immediately fell in love with them. The dogs subsequently became very popular in England, but disappeared entirely from China until they were reintroduced recently.

Plenty of rules apply if you want a golden-haired lapdog of your own. Vaccination certificates are required for the "new" Pekinese, testifying to their immunity from rabies, distemper, infectious hepatitis and enteritis. And half-asleep Beijingers out walking their pampered pooches have become a common sight in the small hours of the morning - they and the capital's other four-legged friends are required to do their business in public areas after 8:00 p.m. and before 7:00 a.m.

The Beijing Pet Hospital is at 7 Beisanhuan Zhonglu, Beijing 100101. Vaccinations cost 60 yuan; the price of a consultation is 15 yuan.

Tel: 010-62371359/62026655

Open: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.