China Scene: North

Stray dog awarded kennel for scaring off other mutts

The good reputation of a black stray bitch by virtue of warning off other strays attempting to invade a local community in a residential area of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, earned her a well-built shelter in which to whelp and raise her six pups.

Upon seeing another stray dog wander into the community one day last month and bark threateningly at a terrified 3-year-old boy, his self-appointed guardian charged at the intruder, eventually forcing it to leave the district. Wang, the boy's mother said: "Since then, the black dog has protected all children in the neighborhood and so earned our respect."