14 DAY TRIAL // China is one of the most profitable markets to breed Tibetan Mastiffs, since these massive, extremely intelligent and ferocious animals are considered the new symbol of power and affluence. One breeder thought to make his dog more appealing for those looking for breeding partners – with plastic surgery.
According to court documents filed with a local judge, Mr. Yu breeds Mastiffs and then sells them for a huge profit.
He thought one particular dog could stand some “improvement” on the aesthetics side, so he had him undergo plastic surgery – a facelift, to be more exact, The Telegraph reports.
The dog unfortunately died on the operating table, so now his breeder wants compensation from the doctor / clinic he had taken the animal to.
“The man, named only as Mr Yu, told Chinese media he had hoped a 1,400 yuan (£140 / $217 / €162) session of plastic surgery would make the dog more attractive to other dog-owners looking for a breeding partner,” The Telegraph reports.
“If my dog looks better, female dog owners will pay a higher price when they want to mate their dog with mine,” Mr. Yu argues in the court filing.
He says his dog died on the table of heart failure, which could have been caused by the anesthetic he was administered.
If that is the case, the clinic must pay – and Mr. Yu is asking for 880,000 yuan (£90,999 / $ 141,195 / €105,653), which is the amount he claims to have paid for the dog when he bought it.
As was to be expected, word of Mr. Yu’s idea of making his dog more attractive has reached the ears of animal rights activists, who are already going after him in the press.
Not only is he running a breeding center, but he also thought putting one of his animals through unnecessary pain was a smart idea. It isn’t, Qin Xiaona, head of Beijing’'s Capital Animal Welfare Association, says.
“It's unfair. It only meets the aesthetic desire for the owner, completely ignoring the rights and interests of the dog,” Xiaona is quoted as saying.