2005_11_pandadog.jpgThe American media is desperate to report on "designer dogs." So desperate that they sought out a dog owner in Japan who dyed his poodle-Maltese hybrid (Maltepoo? Pooese) to look like a panda, coining the phrase, "panda dog." Now, Gothamist loves pandas and dogs and would love to own a panda dog. But dyeing your dog's hair every month, to maintain its perfectly panda fur? Yes, we have a dreamed of panda dogs before, and yes, it was special dog dye, but still - if dog dying is half as expensive has human hairdyeing, that's a lotta coin. Anyway, in the case of this dog, WNBC 10 in Philadelphia reports, "His owner said dying the dog to look like a panda made sense, because it always had stains around its eyes."

So you tell us: Is dyeing your dog's fur ethically wrong or obviously what you need to do to have a close panda simulation - or a dog with goopy eyes? And this slideshow of Columbo is awesome.