Chinese netizens 'go on dog search' after Sichuan man offers flat as reward
A man in China’s southwestern Sichuan province has offered a flat as a reward to anyone who finds his missing dog.
The flat is currently worth half a million yuan (about HK$600,000), but its value will quickly rise to 1 million yuan when the government reclaims the land in the near future, the owner, Xie, posted on microblogging site, Sina Weibo.
Xie, who is in his sixties, said he was looking for Xiao Xiao, a brownish red chow chow he's had for seven years.
“Xiao Xiao is loyal and stubborn,” he wrote. “It can be gentle and clumsy at times, but also wild and aggressive too.”
Xiao Xiao went missing around 2pm on February 8 near Xie’s Chengdu home. Heart-broken, Xie posted several messages on weibo asking for help and lamented the loss of “a family member”.
The earlier messages went mostly unnoticed.
“I’ve earned all my money legally, and isn’t a family member worth far more than a million yuan?” Xie wrote.
The post instantly went viral. While many seemed shocked by how much Xie was willing to pay to get his dog back, others simply found it entertaining.
“I am quitting my job now and joining the dog search,” wrote many.
“I am quitting college and joining the dog search,” said one netizen.
In a matter of hours, thousands of bloggers chimed in:
- “I am quitting selling hotpots to look for the dog.”
- “I am cancelling my vacation now to look for the dog.”
- “I am giving up my civil servants exams to search for the dog.”
But after more than 400,000 reposts and over 550,000 comments on Weibo, Xie said on Monday he received no meaningful leads - and the dog remained missing.
“After all these comments, I got only one vague clue,” Xie said.
Xie, whose online profile says he's worked in media for 30 years, denied speculations that he had put on a “show” to attract attention.
“I am 60 years old and retiring in 20 days,” he said on Weibo. “Nothing matters more to me now than family members. I couldn't care less about money or fame.”
