I didn’t mean to become one of Beijing’s illegal dog-owners. For the first three years I lived there, I didn’t know such a concept even existed. Then one day, a friend asked me if I could dog-sit while he went on a business trip. He knew I liked dogs, or was at least dog-curious. I said yes in a heartbeat.
A few days later, my friend delivered a 35kg Alaskan Malamute named Haohao to my flat: long black-and-white fur, wolf-like snout, large brown eyes. He told me that Haohao was too big to live in central Beijing legally, but that it shouldn’t be a problem if I walked him in the early mornings and late evenings, when there weren’t so many people on the streets.
