WHAT colour is that doggie in the window??

I fear I may be about to launch into what could be misconstrued as a xenophobic rant and I am VERY aware that as someone who hand feeds her cat fresh prawns, opens the door for her if she doesn’t want to use her cat-flap and pays cat-sitters to check on her if I’m gone for more than 6 hours at a time I may not be the most sane of people when it comes to spoiling pets either. But hey at least I don’t dye her luminous colours or dress her in plastic baseball boots, a Burberry coat and a cute pork pie hat ... the photos accompanying this piece (if you can see them properly) are real. If we could’ve got the poor burgundy pooch (no idea what breed he was other than completely hyper) to stand still for more than 2 seconds I may have worked it out. Yes OK I accept that different attitudes towards animals exist in China (the poor old Daisy Duck who was sat on a basket in the wet market outside the office was a different duck each day..) but really. We saw a bright pink poodle, the pictured poor little Pomeranian with the orange ears & lime green tail, and the pictured burgundy terrier (I think) all within the space of a day. The grooming parlours look like human nail bars – all neon lights & people in masks spraying poor Fido ludicrous colours that will no doubt cause (someone) cancer... but beyond this these tiny dogs were carried everywhere in baby carriers! It was clear that their owners adored them (one lady carrying a tiny Chihuahua in a Louis Vuitton coat - yes the dog - checked with the bar owner she could bring the dog in with her before she comitted to sitting down!) but they didn’t treat them like dogs at all. On our last day I pointed out to hubby what I thought was a cute baby in a white rabbit suit (you know bunny ears & little tail) who told me to look again - & with shock I realised it was a little dog! The most gobsmacking sight however had to be the terrified Chihuahua strapped under the stomach of a big golden retriever in a customised Baby Bjorn. If we hadn't been in the middle of crossing the road I would've taken a picture. I am not making this up. I wish I WAS joking... Cats on first glance appeared to get off slightly better but in reality it was worse. It was either the feral life (cat-walking precariously across rooftops, free but not safe) or an ostensibly safer but cramped life in a shop window. Teeny tiny kittens, big cats, small cats, all with their backs turned to the street to avoid the ever present banging on the windows. It was only the strong arm & realistic stance of hubby that stopped me emptying my bank account to bring all the cats home with me. The yes the KC is spoiled & indulged but she has freedom & is kept safe & is treated with respect - as a cat!