First, let me state quite unequivocably that people stealing your dogs to eat them is extremely unlikely. There ARE still some people in China who eat dog; however, this is becoming rapidly more and more unpopular, and certainly most people in a city like Shanghai would consider such a thing repulsive. Furthermore, if they do eat dog, they eat dog which has been raised specifically for that purpose; they don't go out stealing dogs (why steal a dog and risk criminal charges, when it is so easy to get one legally?).

Dogs are occasionally stolen (although in terms of risk, I'd consider it quite small). However, the main reason a dog would be stolen would be because it is a valuable breed which can be re-sold to someone else (as a pet, not as food).

In fact, having dogs as pets is very much in vogue now, with Chinese families becoming every bit obsessed with their dogs as part of the family as any American family.

Overall, your risk of your dogs being stolen would, in my opinion, be exceedingly small. In fact, I have many friends who own dogs (and used to own one myself), and have never heard of any of them having their dog stolen.

Where you DO need to be concerned is with the issue of having the POLICE take your dogs. All dogs are supposed to be registered; and there are strict restrictions on what kinds of dog you are allowed to own. In certain areas of the city, only smaller breeds are allowed...larger breeds are not allowed at all.

Many people simply don't bother with registering their dogs, which sometimes works. But if the police happen to catch you with a dog that doesn't have a permit, you could be in trouble. And if your dogs escape and are caught by the authorities, without a legal permit, it is an automatic trip to the vet for euthanasia...they won't make any effort to find you.

My main suggestion -- contact a relocation company that has active operations in Shanghai. Find out from them the specific requirements and restrictions for owning a dog in Shanghai, and make your plans BEFORE coming here (ie. if you buy an apartment in an area that doesn't allow your dogs, you'll find yourself facing fairly significant problems).

In other words -- the most likely problems for you and your dogs aren't going to come from the Chinese people. They are most likely to come from your own lack of preparation/awareness of the regulations.

Bringing dogs to China is NOT easy. And there ARE reasons for concern.

Contact a qualified professional, and find out what you should do. Don't trust to anecdotal information on a website.

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