When it was learned that rabies had killed 326 people nationwide in the month of October, city officials also went into hyperdrive. Authorities say Beijing has at least 1 million dogs in a city of 13 million people, with over half of the canines unregistered and only 3 percent inoculated against rabies. On Nov. 6, dog-owning households were instructed to strictly adhere to regulations limiting them to a single dog, and each had to be less than 14 inches high at the shoulder. Dog owners were given just 10 days to comply. Some gave up their animals voluntarily; others sent them to live in the country. Still others kept their furry companions in a sort of doggie limbo, walking them in covered car parks in the dead of night to avoid confiscation. About 500 dog lovers protested the new regulations outside the Beijing Zoo, brandishing stuffed animals.

The angst and anger of pet owners shows how far Chinese society has changed since the bad old days of Chairman Mao Zedong. During the ultra-radical 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, keeping pets was considered "bourgeois" and politically incorrect. Pet dogs were virtually unseen in the cities, while cats were tolerated, if frowned upon. When China opened its doors to Western-style economic reforms in the '80s, canines became man's best friend again. Some Beijing celebrities  went overboard, immediately acquiring gigantic canines, such as German shepherds and Tibetan mastiffs.

Now pet shops, grooming centers and even pet-friendly restaurants are springing up in Chinese cities. Recently, in a pet market in Chengdu, I saw a groomer who specialized in dyeing white poodles with splotches of fuschia, orange and chartreuse. Acupuncturists treat aging animals' arthritis. Fortunetellers divine their futures. Last year, when a female blogger posted video of herself killing a kitten by stepping on it with high heels, Netizens exploded with outrage and vowed to bring the torturer to justice; Chinese Internet police had to block all Web discussion of the "cat-killing video" to calm things down.

In the '80s, when I first worked and lived in Beijing, dog culls were routine, and there was little public reaction to them. Now animal-protection societies are starting to sound like the human-rights activists of old. I've been looking closely into the pet scene in China because my husband and I plan to get a puppy who can be a companion to Maomao (and to us, of course). I'll let you know how it goes.

© 2007