Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  There were two aspects that decided the prices of certain pets—their popularity among the public and the supply/demand relationship. In recent years, as the memes featuring Shiba Inus went viral on the internet, increasingly more Chinese people considered raising such an adorable dog of small to medium size.

  Shiba Inu was a breed that had a bright fur color and an attracting appearance. Its relatively small size indicated that it wouldn’t be a threat to the elderly and children. It was gentle and independent, with a mysterious yet funny smile on its face oftentimes, and thanks to the favorable reputation of the movie A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies, Shiba Inus were gaining more popularity.

  Deng Jie had been to a lot of pet shops, and she knew that Shiba Inu was an expensive breed. Therefore, when she heard a purebred Shiba Inu cost only RMB 3,000, she decided to make her move. However, when people became greedy, they were vulnerable to frauds.

  According to her, there were a lot of customers surrounding the stand, and two puppies had been sold, while a few other customers were expressing their intentions to purchase the puppies. She was panicked, thinking that she couldn’t wait anymore, or else she would have had to pick from what was left behind, so she chose one puppy right away.

  Before she paid the seller, although she was aware that verbal promise had no binding effect, she inquired him whether it was a purebred Shiba Inu anyway. The seller patted on his chest as a guarantee, reassuring her that if she found it was not a purebred Shiba Inu, he would refund at any time.

  Just like that, Deng Jie joyfully brought the so-called “purebred Shiba Inu” to her home. Her husband was also very happy, praising her for her wisdom in securing such a good deal. Neither of them doubted whether the puppy was purebred.

  Zhang Zian thought she had finished her narrative, but Deng Jie continued, “To our surprise, the puppy looked lively at the beginning, but after only a few days, it suddenly got very sick, vomiting and suffering from diarrhea. It lost its appetite, keeping its mouth closed in front of meat. And it often lay on the ground without moving a muscle, like it was dead…My husband and I became panicked, and we hurriedly brought it to visit a pet clinic near our home. After diagnosis, the veterinarian told us it had been infected with a canine parvovirus that had a high mortality rate, and that we should prepare for the worst. Besides, the veterinarian also told us that our puppy didn’t seem like a Shiba Inu, but rather was a puppy of another breed!”


  Snowy felt sorry for Deng Jie’s encounter, and the audience of her live broadcast were indignant about her misfortune.

  “This must be a week dog!”


  “I’ve heard of weekdays and weekends, what does week dog mean?”


  Someone explained, “Week dogs mean those sick dogs that can’t last a week after bringing them home.”


  Other spectators started cursing, “F**k those unscrupulous dog peddlers who deceive people with sick and hybrid week dogs!”


  These comments floating on the screen didn’t influence the conversation between Deng Jie and Zhang Zian. He asked, “Did your puppy survive?”


  Deng Jie wiped the corners of her eyes and lowered her head in dismay, “No. I spent a few thousand RMB buying the puppy and seeking treatment for it, but in the end, I got nothing…My husband also had a fight with me. He praised me for closing such a good deal before, and then he complained that I was being penny wise and pound foolish…What was I thinking? I could’ve bought a kitten or a puppy in your shop with that amount of money. If only I didn’t buy that puppy…”


  “Did you go to seek compensation from that dog dealer?” asked Zhang Zian.

  “I did. But he asserted that I didn’t buy any puppy from his stand, and that I was just a troublemaker sent by his competitors…” Deng Jie’s eyes turned red. To save money for her family, she had painstakingly searched for a suitable pet, yet in the end, she lost her money and her pet. Instead of comforting her, her husband complained about her pettiness…It was impossible that she wasn’t frustrated and sad, for she had cried in private several times.

  There was no way she could get a refund, for she had no invoice or agreement for buying the puppy. Without any proof attesting she had bought a pet in that stand, it was no use for her to call the police or file a complaint to the association of consumers. Besides, the association of consumers had always been aware of such chaotic phenomena in the dog market. As long as the transactions were not coerced, they wouldn’t bother to interfere.

  Zhang Zian felt her encounter related to his life. Growing up in his family’s pet shop since he was little, he had heard about many frauds related to pet purchasing from his parents. With the prosperity of the pet market, the frequencies of people being frauded were getting increasingly higher, yet there was no solution to stop such phenomena. It was a paradox for people who wanted to buy purebred pets yet were reluctant to pay the accordingly high prices. For those who were experts in pet raising or well-prepared for the potential circumstances in the dog market, they could take the risk and give the dog market a try; but basically, the ordinary public would be deceived.

  “And you are here today, because…”


  Zhang Zian didn’t understand why Deng Jie told him about such things. Just complaining about her misfortune? Or gaining his compassion so as to bargain later? If it was the latter reason, Zhang Zian would not give her discounts. Though he felt sorry for her encounter, he still had a shop to run. Deng Jie suffered monetary loss from that crooked dog dealer, but Zhang Zian had no obligation to make up for that.

  Deng Jie pulled out her cellphone, accessed her photos and found one picture to show to Zhang Zian.

  “I just happened to walk past your shop today, and I hope you can tell me whether this puppy was a Shiba Inu or not? I’ve inquired a lot of people, most of them said it was, a few told me it was not, even veterinarians were not quite sure. You are an honest and knowledgeable pet shop owner, and I will trust your judgment so that I can officially have closure.”


  Snowy approached Zhang Zian, focusing the camera lens of her cell phone on Deng Jie’s cell phone screen.

  Zhang Zian took Deng Jie’s cell phone and looked over the picture several times. In the picture, the puppy appeared sick, lying on the ground listlessly with its dull eyes half-open. From the shooting angle, it did seem like a Shiba Inu.

  However, as a cheap present from China Telecom by paying her phone bills, her cell phone didn’t have a satisfactory function in taking pictures. In that picture, the colors were not reproduced precisely, and her hands were probably shaking when pressing the shutter, so it wasn’t a particularly clear image. Zooming in the picture, there were only mosaics on the screen—professionally speaking, it was an image with avi display quality!

  Zhang Zian was silently lamenting his inexperience. He probably hadn’t watched enough porn videos so right now he was unable to imagine what an image actually looked like being blocked by mosaics…


  Since he couldn’t see the picture clearly through his naked eyes, it was even more difficult for the audience, who was looking at the picture via Snowy’s camera lens. Everyone was making random guesses. Some said it was indeed a Shiba Inu, some said it was just a cheap dog, while another audience member said it was a mutant called Dogzilla after being exposed to radiation!

  Zhang Zian returned the cell phone to Deng Jie and said with frustration, “Look, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but this picture is too fuzzy for me to see it clearly, and I can’t make my judgment assertively from only one angle. I don’t think I would be showing you enough respect if I just made up my answer randomly.”


  Deng Jie sighed, took over her phone, put it back into her bag, and forced a smile, “Forget it. It’s not a big deal, I just suddenly had this idea when I happened to walk past your shop. After all, I raised it for a few days, so I really hope to figure out its true breed.”


  There was sadness in her smile. She stood up from the chair, “Store manager, I’m leaving now, sorry for taking up your precious time, you should get back to your business now…”


  Zhang Zian also stood up to say goodbye to her, but Snowy chimed in, “Excuse me, when did your puppy die?”


  Deng Jie thought about it and said, “It’s been gone for about one month and a half.”


  Zhang Zian counted the time silently in his heart. It had been two months since she left his shop the last time, meaning that she at least went around to look at pets for another two weeks before buying the puppy. During this one month and a half, she had been inquiring others with this picture in her phone, so she still couldn’t let go of what happened.

  “If you are in no hurry, could you please wait here for a while? I’m going to discuss something with the store manager.” said Snowy politely towards Deng Jie.

  Deng Jie wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she felt the innocent and lovely Snowy was amicable, so she nodded as consent. She walked towards the display cases and observed the puppies through the glasses.

  Snowy pulled Zhang Zian to other side.

  “What?” asked Zhang Zian in bewilderment.

  “Mr. Store Manager, I have a request, please promise me you will grant it.” Putting her palms together devoutly, Snowy made her request seriously.

  Zhang Zian answered cautiously, “Tell me what it is. As long as it’s not about lending money, I will think about it.”


  Snowy said, “I’m not asking you to lend money. What I want to say is, will you host a live broadcast with me with the theme of visiting the dog market?”