Animal encounters 遇到动物

The late Ivan (right) and Odin (left)

My first experience of purchasing pets in China didn't end well. As I learned later, buying animals cheaply comes at the expense of the animal's health; they have received substandard care and little veterinary attention. Not long after purchase these animals can die suddenly. In particular, the small dogs, kittens and rabbits bought at markets are notoriously short-lived. When I went to the Qingdao Beer Festival, a large noisy affair, I saw a man peddling rabbits on the roadside. I have never seen more pitiful, terrified animals in my life. And they were selling for stupidly cheap prices. It struck me that they were no more than the goldfish that can be won at funfairs. You expect them to die quickly. A temporary plaything.

At my nearest bus stop, it is possible to buy pet birds, which are sold next to sweet potatoes. Just in case you decide to buy a bird before you catch your bus. Handy.

Perhaps an even stranger experience was the attempt to visit a 'pet market' with a classmate. We were both interested in seeing some cats, and if possible, giving them a cheeky cuddle. It turns out that 'pet market' was the name of a dingy shop specialising in dogs, and by dogs I mean, the tiny shrill dogs that double up as accessories. Naturally the shop owner was curious as to why two foreigners had just entered his establishment, and in my haste to depart without causing embarrassment to the owner, I answered that we were more interested in cats. "What kind of cats?" he asked. "Scottish folds." I replied (yes, I can say that in Chinese. Degree win). "I have a friend who breeds them," he answered, "I'll give him a call." Next thing we know, we spend the next 10 minutes waiting in his dim shop, surrounded by the sound of yapping, breathing in the perfume of urea, to be picked up by the shop owner's friend. A while later, a car pulls up, and we get driven to a cat pet-shop. Inside, a ginger Persian (called 加菲猫, literally a 'Garfield' cat) sauntered around the shop floor. Asleep on a box was a stunning blue British short hair tomcat. The cat pet-shop owner informed us that he was his breeding tom, who had recently fathered a litter of kittens. But the kittens weren't on the premises, they were being raised at home. Who can resist a batch of kittens??? So we hopped back in this man's car and drove to his house. When we reached his compound, he told us to wait in the car with his wife, while he fetched a kitten. And this we did. He handed the tiny blue bundle of joy to us through the rear window of the car. Somehow something as innocent as looking at kittens felt like a drugs transaction. It was probably because of the shaded windows. And secret location. And kind of because we felt like hostages in the car. But anyway, we totally fell in love the kitten, and what was originally meant to be a cat reconnaissance mission became a kitten shopping trip. Oh well.

And Lo! Loki was purchased. 

Even more recently, I became the owner of a samoyed puppy. After a 2 and a half hour journey, my flatmate and I finally arrived at the assigned bus stop, on a dusty and deserted road, ready to meet the breeder. What we didn't expect is that she would arrive walking, arms full of white fur. She had brought along three A-DOR-ABLE puppies for us to choose from. So, on the street behind a bus stop, we met little Heimdall.

AARRRGH PUPPEHS