KARUNA SHINSHO, CNN ANCHOR: In the days of Chairman Mao, keeping dogs as pets was officially discouraged in China. It was seen as an elitist practice, the preserve of the bourgeoisie. But today, despite severe restrictions, a growing number of Chinese own dogs. Mimi Mees explains.</s>MIMI MEES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The life of a dog at a photo studio, pampered, coddled, and treated like a star. This picture is just one indicator that dogs are becoming more accepted in Chinese society, a trend that the owner of White Tiger hopes to cash in on by selling his dog's image to advertisers. In Beijing, there are now at least 160,000 dogs, and businesses, like Lao Qin's pet photo studio, are trying to take advantage of the situation.</s>LAO QIN, OWNER, PET PHOTO STUDIO: China's pet markets are still in their infancy, but things are improving because people's living standards are higher, and official policies are loosening up. Business will become better and better.</s>MEES: But business will truly improve only when a dog becomes more affordable. For the majority of families, the $600 registration fee and $300 annual fee is much too expensive. The passage of a 1994 law to strictly control dog raising imposed rigid demands on potential dog owners. It contains a no sunshine on dogs rule, forcing owners to walk their dogs only between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. The law also bans any dogs taller than 35 centimeters. But despite the obstacles, if Chinese citizens are willing to live with the restrictions and sacrifice financially to keep them as pets, dogs just might have their day in the sun. Mimi Mees, INSIDE ASIA.
Despite Restrictions, Some Chinese Own Dogs