Savior of strays runs animal farm

As soon as Hu Xiuping steps out of the taxi, a bag of dog food under her arm, hundreds of hungry mouths bark a chorus of greeting for the woman who saved their lives.

Over the past 18 years, 62-year-old Hu has rescued numerous lost, abandoned and injured dogs - even some that were on the verge of being butchered for meat.

She now lives with 560 of them on a grape farm in Hefei, Anhui province, but could not afford their upkeep, which stands at about 40,000 yuan ($5,990) a month, without a little help.