ASIA LETTER: Tootsie preens herself as the monthly pampering session begins.Today the petit, dark haired beauty is going for the full works - a hair trim, ear cleaning, and manicure. She is clearly lapping up the fuss as a white-coated woman dances attendance on her.
aThe noise level is high as Tootsie and five other customers yelp excitedly in this trendy beauty parlour in Shanghai. Tootsie insists on flirting with her frisky friend, Bei Bei, who refuses to sit still while he has his eyebrows trimmed. "Quiet, Bei Bei, quiet please," an exasperated beautician coaxes.
But this is no ordinary beauty parlour, and these are no ordinary customers. This is the Shanghai Naughty Family Pets Company, a centre of high-class canine care in the Hong Qiao district of China's commercial capital. Tootsie, the poodle, and Bei Bei, the Pomeranian, are the stars of the show here today.
It's the end of the Chinese New Year holiday and the shop is crowded with pampered pooches and their doting owners. The shelves are stacked with leopard-skin dog leads, bark-control collars, plastic dog bones, breath fresheners, and the latest in trendy silk doggie coats.
Move over little emperors and make way for the canine kings.
China is in the throes of a pet revolution. Ten years ago, few Chinese kept pets. But with an increase in living standards, and the limit on family sizes due to the one-child policy, more and more people are looking to man's best friend for company.
Supermarket shelves in Shanghai, Beijing and other major cities have introduced pet sections for the first time. In the Carrefour supermarket outlets in Beijing, Whiskas and Pedigree Chum have appeared on the shelves.
There are an estimated 120 million dogs in China, but only 12 million are kept as pets. The rest are bred for restaurants, with dog-meat still rivalling beef and pork in popularity in some parts of the country and other parts of Asia.
Shanghai is without doubt the pet dog capital of China, with an estimated 70,000 registered furry friends. It is estimated the same number again are kept illegally. Residents here spend 60 million euro a year on keeping their dogs - almost 10 times as much as their counterparts in Beijing.
There is concern about the rising number of dogs in this city of 16 million people, with 12,000 dogs being added to the canine population annually.
It is expensive to own a dog in China's major urban centres. The most popular breeds cost between €300 and €400. After that, there is a €500 dog-registration fee to be paid in Beijing and Shanghai, twice the annual rural income in China. And it costs an additional €200 a year after that to renew the registration card.
The authorities in China believe tight regulations and high fees are the best ways of ensuring that the dog population is disease-free and doesn't pose a public nuisance.
In Shanghai, you can only bring your dog out for a walk if you have your registration card. If you are stopped and don't have the correct papers, you will be fined. In some extreme cases, the dog can be taken away to meet a dark and unmentionable fate.
In Beijing, a dog's life is a tough one. Four-legged friends are banned from the streets during the day, and can only be brought out for exercise after 7 p.m. And dog owners are not allowed keep a pet over a certain size.
What rankles with the Chinese is the fact that ex-pat dog owners in Beijing and Shanghai ignore the strict dog regulations, and get away with it.
Back at the Shanghai Naughty Family Pets centre, business is thriving. Here it costs between €8 and €12 to bath a small dog while a "full service" bath for a bigger dog, including ear cleaning and nail clipping, will set you back €25. A designer, padded silk coat is a steal at €20.
The animal hospital in this all-purpose dog care centre is also thriving. Student Wang Jie has come here because her dog, Bo-Bo, ate too much over Chinese New Year, and is ill. She will spend €10 for a consultation and medicine.
She says dog owners spend heavily on keeping their pets healthy, buying medication and availing of the X-ray machines and even dog CAT scans at the city's animal clinics when they think something is wrong.
Jie spends an average €10 a week on Bo-Bo. "That covers everything from vet's fees, to food and toys." Bo-Bo also comes here for a beauty once over every month.
As the authorities continue to curtail dogs' freedom of movement, more will find themselves housebound. As a result some enterprising companies have started a dating service for lonely canines with one Chinese web site, www.hellopet.com.cn, featuring ads for mates.
A recent ad read: "Pomeranian male, 33 cm long, 3 kg, virgin, very likeable, looking for a pure-blooded female, any size, with a good heart."
Any takers out there among Ireland's doggie population?