If friends visit your home with their dogs over the Spring Festival, they may be expecting you to give the pet a little more than some water or a bite to eat.

They may be expecting cash.

Several markets around Shanghai are selling fancy jackets for dogs to mark the start of the Year of the Dog. The jackets have a little pocket on the back for collecting lucky money - which is normally given to kids during the holiday.

Most of the jackets were imported from Guangdong Province, where they have become popular among dog owners.

"I had stocked some of the jackets and will introduce them to my customers," said Zhai Jiang, the owner of Pets' Paradise, a local kennel. "I expect this will become a trend among local dog owners, especially during the Spring Festival."

Many people in the city say they would refuse to give cash to a dog.

"I will give lucky money as a tradition to kids, but dogs, no. Dogs are dogs. Besides, I don't think it's decent to bring a dog to visit other's home on such an important festival," said Roger Xie, a 29-year-old game animator.

While some dog owners are expected to take their pets to visit friends and family over the holiday, many others will board their four-legged friends in a kennel for the week.

"Most of the pet owners are white-collar workers hailing from out of town. They have to leave their dogs for a while when they go home and they are willing to pay money to have their pets well looked after," said Zhai.

Some travelers who don't want to leave their pets in the city will hide them in bags during train trips back home, according to railway officials, who say the practice is not allowed.

"Such cases are rare, but it does happen. The X-ray check could easily spot the animals inside the bags," said Han Yi, an official with Shanghai Railway Station.

"Passengers will be ordered to leave the pets with their local friends or give them to the police before they could get on the train."

Pet Rules

Travelers bringing pets to Shanghai need to carry documents to prove the animals are healthy and have received all of their shots. Only cats and dogs are allowed to enter the city without going through quarantine, the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau announced yesterday.

People are only allowed to bring one pet with them at a time.

"The rules aim to prevent disease that is infectious to humans or animals from entering the city," the bureau said.

(Shanghai Daily January 28, 2005)