How to Keep Your Best Friend Safe During Dog-Catching Season

Dog-catching season, the time when authorities go around and grab dogs, strays and unlicensed pooches, is upon us.

The annual crackdown on unlicensed hounds has been the bane of dog owners for over a decade now. Beijing has had pretty unreasonable limits on the kinds of dogs you’re allowed to have, which includes a blanket ban on canines that stand more than 35 centimetres at the shoulder.

And while the one-child policy is now gone, in the capital there remains a strict one dog per household policy.

“For stray and unlicensed dogs, this is the worst time of the year,” says Christopher Barden, founder and owner of Little Adoption Shop in Shunyi. “Based on experience, my guess is anywhere between 30 percent and 50 percent of all dogs in Beijing are unable to meet these requirements.”

Barden says dog licenses in key areas of the city can be as expensive as RMB 1,000 for the first year and 500 for yearly renewals.

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