Dogs With Passports!

Tonight, 30 dogs from China will be arriving at JFK Airport, to be put up for adoption at the North Shore Animal League in Port Washington. Newsday reports that these dogs were in a crowded Beijing animal shelter (crowded and Beijing seem synonymous to us) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare decided to step in, saying that the Beijing shelter had "more dogs in the shelter than they can adopt out." Certain breeds of dogs are illegal for ownership in China - for instance, a dog bigger taller than 6 inches is contraband. However, PETA pointed out that the trip from China to NY isn't a "picnic" and that millions of American animals are euthanized each year. The IFAW tells Newsday they are trying to help out Chinese shelters and encourage the government to remove breed bans.

Gothamist likes how the animals travel with passports. And we wonder how long it'll take for the dogs to understand English.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung on May 24, 2005 7:11 PM

Comments [rss]

theglobalchinese

How many dogs do exist in the USA?

How many pit bulls do exist in the USA?

What's the percentage of pit bulls to all dogs in the USA?

TARYN GARCIA

I LIVE IN NYC AND WOULD LIKE TO BRING MY DOG TO BARCELONA WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW? ALSO IS IT POSSIBLE TO BRING MY DOG WITHOUT THE MICROCHIP?

THANKS,

TARYN GARCIA

fido

I like the ornate twin-doggie symbol underneath of the photo.

pantrygirl

Seriously, who was the photographer? Can I book him/her for my passport renewal photo? I look like a freakin' Geisha girl in mine. Pasty white with two beady eyes.

Nghia

wouldn't they be better off eating them. don't worry i'm asian too.

Meghan

That dog's passport picture looks a hell of a lot better than mine.

Max

Freaking insane- there goes any notion I had of ever supporting any animal shelter. How about these nitwits deal with the problem where it is instead of making it our problem?

candleblue

it's adorable that the dog's name means "big head"

Solas

Did you notice how the passport has a spot for "microchip number"? How X-Files.

Captain Midnight

This is insanity. Spending $1000 per dog? The IFAW obviously have lost all sense of perspective. How many dogs in US shelters could have been saved for $30,000? Pet quality purebreds go for less than $1000 apiece.

Stacy

"for instance, a dog bigger taller than 6 inches is contraband."

I'm not sure what this means.

Solas

It seems to me that America has more stray dogs and cats than we can adopt out too. Why must PETA suddenly ship them to us from China? I'm all for saving strays, but this seems - literally and figuratively - going too far.