Not so black and white: ‘Panda’ on a leash that was spotted on the streets of Leshan turns out to be a dog called ‘Pretty Girl’ who was dyed by her owner
- Yang Yan dyed his chow chow Mei Niu – pretty girl – black and white to look like a panda
- He said that his dog looked like a panda anyway so he decided to dye its fur
- The pet owner said he used natural colouring made from plants to dye the fur
A ‘panda’ that was spotted being walked on a leash in China is actually a dog that was dyed black and white by her owner.
Footage recorded on June 6 in the city of Leshan, China, appeared to show a woman walking a panda over a crossing, in amongst foot traffic.
On closer inspection though, the ‘panda’ turns out to be a chow chow that has been dyed black and white to make it look like a panda.
A ‘panda’ that was spotted being walked on a leash in Leshan, China, is actually a chow chow dog that was dyed black and white by her owner
Owner Yang Yan said that his dog Mei Niu, which means pretty girl, looked like a panda anyway so he decided to dye his white chow chow to resemble the wild animal even more.
Yang Yan changed the colour of his dog using natural colouring.
He said that he made the colouring by mixing plants in a bowl with water and that his dye was harmless to his pet.
This isn’t the first time that a dog has been mistaken for a panda in China.
Last year the owner of pet café Cute Pet Games in a shopping mall in Chengdu sparked controversy after dying his six chow chow dogs to look like pandas.
Owner Yang Yan said that his dog Mei Niu, which means pretty girl, looked like a panda anyway so he decided to dye his white chow chow to resemble the wild animal even more
Using a natural dye that he made himself from plants mixed in a bowl with water, Yang yan dyed his chow chow to look like a panda
Mr Huang, who owns the café, said that only organic colouring had been used to ‘pandarise’ his dogs.
Animal rights organisation PETA condemned the shop’s actions.
A spokesperson said: ‘Dyeing hair may be fashionable, but only for humans who willingly have it done.
‘There are always risks with using dyes on animals, to their fur, skin, nose and eyes.
‘Animals should not be a tool for people to paint.’
Mr Huang responded though and said: ‘The dye that was used on the dogs was tailor-made for them and 100 per cent safe. Therefore, we bought the dye and hired specialists to put them on the dogs.’