China's Latest Craze - Dyeing Pets to Look Like Other Wild Animals

They only look like baby pandas. These little bundles of joy are actually chow chow dogs that have been dyed black-and-white to look like pandas.

Dyeing pets has been a trend in pet pampering for quite some time. At last summer's Pets Show Taipei, there was a fierce dog-dyeing competition. Check out photos.

But dyeing your pets to look like other wild animals is a more recent development.

The trend demonstrates how quickly and dramatically attitudes toward pets — particularly dogs — have changed in many parts of Asia.

In Taiwan, for example, just 10 years ago, dogs were still eaten in public restaurants and raised on farms for that purpose. Traditional Chinese medicine held that so-called "fragrant meat" from dogs could fortify one's health. Now, eating dog is viewed by many as an embarrassing reminder of a poorer time.

Elsewhere, in mainland China, dog meat is still very much on the menu. In fact, it's more expensive than pork or beef.

So, while more people may be eating dog as the country gets richer, newly wealthy Chinese have embraced dog-owning culture with a vengeance.

Dogs are brought into restaurants, fussed over in public, dressed up in ridiculous outfits and dyed to look like ferocious tigers.

Panda or chow chow? Tiger or retriever? You be the judge:

These dogs were put on show after being transferred to Zhenghou from southwest China's Sichuan province

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These chow chow dogs have been styled to look like pandas in Xi’an, Shaanxi province on June 18, 2011.

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And here's another bizarre transformation, courtesy of the Daily Mail: a pet retriever in China has been dyed to look like tiger.

                                                      Click images to enlarge
                                   

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Funny or Sad? Children Terrified at Sight of Purple Panda (VIDEO)

I wasn't sure if we should laugh or just feel bad for these kids, but this video is definitely worth watching.

The staff at Pennsylvania’s Center in the Woods preschool thought they would surprise their toddlers with a visit from Mr. McFeely, the delivery man character from the PBS Kids show
  “Mr. Rogers’.”

The youngsters eagerly listened to Mr. McFeely as he sat in front of the classroom and introduced another special guest, Purple Panda, one of the costumed characters also on the PBS show.

Mr. McFeely stood up to welcome his friend, and as he entered the classroom, Mr. McFeely held Purple Panda’s hand. The kids however, were not so welcoming.

Chaos immediately ensued. Screaming and crying children scattered to a far corner of a classroom, seemingly petrified by the sight of the Purple Panda, which was actually a person wearing a panda suit.

Confused, Mr. McFeely just told the kids to “stand right here” and as he waved at them. He then tried to calm them down by admitting that it’s not actually Purple Panda but “somebody pretending” to be the panda. His words did not soothe the children.

The Youtube clip has received over 770,000 hits and thousands of ‘Likes’ since it was first uploaded on April 9.


I must admit, as an adult...I would probably take off running if I saw someone dressed like that!

I think the purple panda should have immediately left the room when he saw that the children were upset. A little more thought should have been put in the designing of the costume. I understand that the characters have a whimsical look...however kids love Barney, the purple dinosaur.

Take a look at how receptive the kids are in the pictures below. I only hope that these kids are not scarred for life, and become afraid of animals.

What do you think?

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