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Talk about a dog's life, pampered pooches step this way. Beijing is the place to be. Dogs clipped, primped, washed and dried. Here, it's the owners who go to obedience school, these people pay almost a thousand US dollars a month to learn how to properly care for their pets. Dogs are hot in Beijing, a symbol of a new affluent middle class.
She is just like my own daughter. I have two more dogs at home. They're my sons. I call them daughter and sons.
Yes, pets as surrogate children, even surrogate husbands. 23-year-old dog owner, Qin Lu, certainly thinks her dog makes some more loyal partner. She's spending 1,300 Yuan, that's almost 200 US dollars a month, sending her dog to this training school. Think about it, almost half her monthly salary as a secretary.
Personally, if I have a dog, I want to give it the very best of everything. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have a dog.
Before we get too sentimental though, other dogs in China have a far more grisly fate, many still destined for the dinner table, dog meat, a popular delicacy. But appetites are changing. What was once for the eating is now for the treating. Beijing alone is home to more than a million dogs. Owners spend an average 25 dollars a month on pets. Do the math. Dogs are big business. Ning Wei runs this obedience school on the outskirts of Beijing.
It has been open for almost three years. There are many dogs. And now we are opening another branch.
As their owners embrace everything western, so too, are the dogs. Ning Wei's specializing in producing a new breed of bilingual puppies. Yes, dogs that understand Chinese and now English.
Sit, sit, sit. This is Mars, still a little puppy as you can see. I'm gonna do a test now see if it understands both in English and Chinese. Effectively, if its Chinese is better than my English, and its English is better than my Chinese. If you know what I mean. OK. Mars, Woshou, Woshou. Good job, good job That's shake hands. Now we will ask it in English. Mars, shake hands, shake hands. Yeah, good job, good job.
Yes, if you need any reminding, this is the Chinese year of the dog. Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.
New Words and Expressions
pampered adj. treated with excessive indulgence 过分娇惯的
pooch n. [Slang] a dog <美俚>狗, 杂种狗
primp v. To dress or groom with meticulous or excessive attention to detail. 精心打扮, 装饰
surrogate n. A person or an animal that functions as a substitute for another, as in a social or family role 替代者
sentimental adj. Appealing to the sentiments 感伤的，引起伤感情绪的
grisly adj. gruesome 恐怖的, 可怕的, 令人毛骨悚然的
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