High-cost care

Veterinarian Du Xiaopeng has been a busy man lately, handling 200 dogs since June, thanks to the Universiade.

"They have come from as far as Qinghai and Heilongjiang provinces, and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, to boost the Universiade's security system," says Du, from Kunming's Police Dog Base, who has more than 25 years of experience.

These dogs have been supplementing Shenzhen's 100 sniffer dogs, that have been put to work at all of the Universiade venues, Universiade Village and some of the official hotels, to make sure no explosives get in.

"We have been preparing the doghouses since the beginning of June - two weeks before the dogs' arrival," Du says. "All the doghouses have to be sterilized seven to eight times every day. We can't take any risk, considering these are top police dogs from across China."

Some come from the coldest areas of China while others are from some of the driest places, and have vastly different reactions to Shenzhen's high temperature and low pressure. "Heat stroke is enough to cause death," Du says.

There is also a risk of infections. "We have spent 100,000 yuan ($15,625) on vaccines against canine distemper, canine parvovirus, hepatitis and rabies," he says.

"Tick infections are another headache," he adds, pointing out that ticks thrive in Shenzhen's weather.