Squarky's itsy bitsy Shanghai-ization

It's been a little over six months since Squarky came to Shanghai. Looking back, he has survived cross-country air travel, quarantine by the China government, abdominal surgery ordeal, and apartment-living rules. We can proudly announce that he has successfully fit in city life and become a city slicker!

Let me share with you some of itsy bitsy things about Squarky’s Shanghai-ization .
In order to become a legal alien dog in Shanghai, Squarky and us needed to obtain “Permitted Certificate of Dogs” and “Immunization Certificate of Dogs” issued respectively by “Shanghai Public Security Bureau”(aka Shanghai Police Bureau) and Shanghai Animal Control Vet Station. Below picture shows these two cards.

Application forms are different for expat and local dog owners. As far as I haven seen, the form for expat owners seems to be in Chinese only. This form can be obtained from police station or downloaded from website (上海公安局的網站download下載) or, like me, get it from management office of the apartment/ villa compound. The approval procedures are simpler for expat dog owners. Don’t ask me why. Since we live in Pu Dong, the fee is RMB 1,000 (about US$145) annually which is quite expensive in my opinion. The fee would increase to RMB 2,000 if the dog owner lives in an area like Puxi downtown.

I had to run a few trips to finally get this job done. However, the police station and the officer who is in charge of this matter are pretty friendly, which has offset some of the grudge I developed for all these hassles of running back and forth. Their service and efficiency are much better than I expected which, made me relieved because I initially was very hesitant to deal with “Chinese policemen“.

Shanghai Canine Control Commander Committee Office gives free gear including a dog permit key ring, a collar- leash- muzzle set and a pooh picker to every registered dog owner this year. Above picture shows the gear. The idea is to attempt to educate local dog owners to become more “civilized” and “responsible” which is very nice and should be convenient for dog owners. However, the idea when put to the test seems to be not so practical and smart. First, they only give one size of collar-leash-muzzle set which is so small that perfectly goes no where except stuck on Squarky’s muzzle. Then, the pooh picker is so humongous that you really can put in T-Rex pooh no problem. It also looks more rather a land-mine removal device than a doggy pooh-picker. So I have put all these away and go back to use our old stuffs.

Let me show you a few of Squarky’s own gear which he needs often on a daily basis. The below picture- from left to right.

Night safety collar with flashing lights - boguth from PetsMart. It is a must-have when Squarky runs with his dad at night. The flash lights are big and easy to be seen and have two different light adjustments to choose.

Blue normal leash - Squarky’s dad bought it in Japan. What we like about this seems-normal leash is that its handle has extra thick gel cushion built-in which is very comfortable in our hands even when Squarky pulls hard. I haven’t seen any leash in the US that has this design. Bravo to another smart and sweet Japanese design!

Pooh bag carrier - I wish Shanghai Canine Control Commander Committee office can take a good look at this - a real civilized size of a good pooh bag carrier is supposed like this big, OK?

Brown doggy-print water-proof bag - I purchased it a few months ago in Taipei. It is a very practical and also good-looking cute bag. Another Japanese sweet and smart design. I use it to carry Squarky’s gear plus mine when taking him outside.

Pet wipes - One of Squarky’s untold, incurable habit is that he likes to leave the very last tiny bit of pooh dangling from his handsome rear. I’ve learned my lesson well. Now, I carry Pet wipes so that it can come to the rescue.

Retractable leash - this is Not the best recommended leash for behavioral training. But it makes dogs like Squarky who likes walking as lost control firework very happy. Just don’t tell Cesar Milan we use it.

Shanghai Canine Control Commander Committee Office publishes “Metropolis and Dog”(picture shown above) . We received it last month. The content seems to focus on owners education for civilizing local dog owners. I find it quite entertaining though.

Allowing me say this boldly that China has no “pet culture” yet. I am not a qualified social observer or sociologist, so I am not going to analyze why and how and when. Being a dog enthusiast, what I care the most is how one day the pet culture will be healthily and correctly rooted in Chinese people’s heart. Only when that day comes, will Chinese people truly understand how great their life can be with pets around. Only when that day comes, a real mutual respect and love will be found between nature/other beings and human beings on this ancient land.