Love thy neighbor - and neighbor's dog, too
Updated: 2007-09-21 07:52
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You're nothing like a hound dog
Barking all the time
And you can be a friend of mine
In a twist of the old Elvis song, a common perception that dogs and their owners are not popular with neighbors has been proved wrong by a Beijing survey.
Of the people who do not own dogs, nearly 70 percent said they are not opposed to their neighbors having one.
In Beijing, about 90 percent of people who do not have canines have dog-owning neighbors, the survey showed.
"It shows people are more tolerant of dog ownership," said Mao Shoulong, a professor of public policy at Renming University of China.
With support from the Companion Animal Research and Information Centre, the university conducted the survey of 1,050 people - 357 who keep dogs and 693 who don't.
Other key findings:
* Most consider dogs "lovely, loyal and friendly".
* Half of those who own dogs say they do it out of affection for the animal, followed by companionship and a sense of safety.
* More than half the dog owners treat the canines as an indispensable part of the family.
* More than 70 percent call for legislation to protect animals and punish animal abusers.
Official figures show that Beijing had more than 550,000 registered dogs last year, up 20 percent from the previous year.
And as the pets become more visible, they have been dogged by some controversies.
In 2003, the local government revised regulations on dog ownership, turning the focus from control to management, said Mao.
About 30 percent of non-dog owners think law enforcement is weak while 40 percent of owners think the regulations are too stringent.
For example, about 85 percent of owners think there is no need to register their dogs despite the fact that 81 percent of them have done so as required.
About 52 percent of owners think the fees collected cannot be justified by the services, which they refer to as free vaccines, public awareness of civilized dog ownership, and medical checks.
Some 66 percent of the owners and 70 percent of non-owners think that compulsory vaccines are the most effective way to prevent the spread of rabies.
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