A 13-year-old Samoyed appears to accept its fate of getting carried in a backpack. Photo: Weibo
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3185438/woman-warms-hearts-china-pooch-pack-carry China Personalities
Woman warms hearts in China with ‘pooch pack’ to carry big elderly dog upstairs after walk
- She often takes her 13-year-old Samoyed for walks, but it is too old to walk up the stairs itself
- She ties the dog to her back and carries it up the stairs to help it get home
A woman in China was lauded for making the effort to carry her elderly dog up the stairs every day. Photo: SCMP composite
Sometimes “man’s best friend” needs a helping hand, especially when it’s a 13-year-old Samoyed in southern China who needs a bit of help walking up the stairs to get home.
A video of a woman from Nanning, in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, strapping her beloved pet to her back and carrying the dog up the stairs after taking it for a walk moved many people in China.
The woman, surnamed Tang, said that she often takes the family dog downstairs for walks, but it struggles to walk back upstairs due to its old age. So, she uses a strap to sling the dog on her back and bring it home.
Tang then gets a bit of exercise because the weight of the dog - Samoyeds often weigh from 20 to 30kg - forces her to bend forward and take small steps to get up the staircase.
The life expectancy for this breed is between 12 and 14 years, so Tang’s dog is quite old.
“Our dog is 13 years old, and it already cannot walk well upstairs by itself,” Tang explained, according to Wutong Video.
“Because we live in an old-style building with no elevator, we must carry it upstairs on our backs.”
Tang added that carrying the dog up the stairs is her duty because she is committed to raising it.
“I have to bear responsibility for it to the end since I chose to raise it,” Tang explained. “I can’t just abandon it because it’s old and sick.”
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Tang’s behaviour was considered inspiring and heartwarming in China, especially considering the relative frequency of dog abandonment in the country.
“She’s a lot better than the people who abandoned their pets,” one person said.
“Only those who have pets understand why she would do this, because dogs are not only pets to us, but also family,” remarked another. “Having a conscientious and loving owner is a blessing for the dog.”
People who felt a connection to Tang also shared their own dog-related stories.
“My dog is also too old to walk upstairs, so I carry it upstairs and downstairs from the fourth floor every day,” a person wrote.