A Chinese travel influencer whose Border Collie had 1.58 million social media followers has been told to “stop making a fuss” after his beloved dog was allegedly stolen from his family’s farm, sold to a dog meat dealer for the equivalent of just $25 and slaughtered — with the alleged thief reportedly claiming he had broken no law.
Chutou, a Border Collie who had accompanied his owner Guo across China and amassed a huge following on the Chinese platform Douyin, was taken from the family’s yard in Henan province on 11 May while Guo was away on a solo road trip. His father, who was caring for the dog, discovered him missing, and surveillance footage later showed two unidentified individuals grabbing Chutou and carrying him away on an electric bike. Guo abandoned his trip and returned home to search for the dog.
On 26 May, Guo made contact with the man he believes is responsible, offering 10,000 yuan — approximately $1,500 — for Chutou’s safe return. The man claimed he had mistaken the dog for a stray. Guo dismissed the explanation immediately: Chutou had been wearing both a collar and a GPS tracker when he disappeared. In a subsequent exchange, Guo learned the man had sold Chutou to a dog dealer for around $25 on 14 May. The dog had since been resold, slaughtered and eaten.
When Guo tracked down the restaurant worker responsible and asked to recover even his dog’s remains, the response was brutal. The butcher allegedly told him what was left of Chutou “was thrown in the rubbish long ago.” The alleged thief offered no apology, reportedly telling Guo: “The dog is dead, so stop making a fuss. I did not break the law.”
Legally, that claim is not without foundation. According to the South China Morning Post, China has no animal protection laws prohibiting the abuse or slaughter of pets. The alleged theft has been handled as a straightforward property offence, and lawyer Du Wei of Sichuan Weixu Law Firm told the SCMP that criminal theft charges can only be pursued in China when the value of stolen property exceeds 2,000 yuan. Establishing Chutou’s value as a celebrity dog, and quantifying Guo’s emotional loss, is likely to present significant legal challenges. The Ningling County Public Security Bureau has opened an administrative case.
Guo, who has been documenting the ordeal publicly on Douyin, has vowed to pursue the matter through the courts and has rejected any private settlement or mediation. “I intend to pursue the matter legally,” he wrote in a 31 May post, thanking supporters for their “attention, support and solidarity,” according to Asia One.
The case has reignited a long-running debate about China’s dog meat trade and the absence of national animal protection legislation. While no nationwide ban exists, dogs were removed from China’s official livestock catalogue in 2020, and cities including Shenzhen and Zhuhai have banned the consumption of dogs and cats outright. But those protections remain patchy and unevenly enforced, according to Humane World for Animals, which has campaigned for years for a nationwide ban on the dog and cat meat trade.
For Guo, the legal question is secondary to the personal one. A dog that had shared every road across China with him, built an audience of millions, and been wearing a GPS tracker when he was taken, ended up in a bin — and no one, as yet, has been held to account.
