Is That a Panda? Nope, It’s a Dog Dyed to Look Like One

By Alisa Opar

Features Editor, Audubon magazine

Published June 24, 2010

Image: Daily Mail
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but dogs in China might beg to differ. The latest trend has pet owners dyeing their pooches to resemble exotic species. While one tiger-striped retriever makes a rather unconvincing feline, chows with blackened eye patches, ears, and legs bear an uncanny resemblance to pandas at first glance.

From the Daily Mail:

The Chinese are always quick to embrace bizarre trends, and it is not unusual for owners to take their dogs to grooming parlours where they are not only given a shampoo and trim, but a multi-coloured dye job as well.

It’s an odd fad, but I’d rather see folks dying Fido than putting more pressure on the real exotic animals by taking them as pets or buying body parts, such as bones and penises. For instance, today, there are only an estimated 3,000 wild tigers—less than 3 percent of the population a century ago. While development and habitat fragmentation are partly to blame, demand for the majestic creatures as exotic pets, or tiger parts for medicinal purposes, are also large contributors to their decline.

Let’s just hope these owners don’t get too carried and start marketing their pets' male reproductive organs, as is done with tigers (supposedly consuming male tiger parts increases virility). Though, maybe on the up side it could lead to more widespread neutering…