PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE

Pet stores in China are struggling to meet demand for the country’s latest animal craze—chow dogs dyed black-and-white to make them look like pandas. “Ten years ago the natural instinct of a Chinese person was to eat a dog,” said pet-store owner Hsin Ch’en. “Now we are like Westerners and want one as a companion.” Hsin said the panda dogs have become more popular than “the cute breeds,” such as French bulldogs, and that owners don’t mind paying to have their dog recolored every six weeks. “They like the fact that heads turn in the street.”