For the love of dogs

Seeing dogs and children taking part in our events in China is always guaranteed to be chaotic but full of happiness. Our recent Shenzhen World Animal Day celebration was no exception as the room was filled with barks and squeals of delight, together with lots of bright flashes as the media covered the fun.

One special man - Chen Junliang who is quite a celebrity in Shenzhen - came along to sing during the event. Junliang is blind and works for the Shenzhen Luohu District Disabled Persons Federation as a psychological health care teacher. He chose a song "You are my eyes", dedicated to a dog he calls his "brother", named Xiao Q and had the whole audience moved with his words and his beautiful voice.

Junliang's mother had raised Xiao Q from a puppy, training him to be a guide dog for the blind and planning to sell him to the Guide Dog Training Centre once training was complete. However, a year later they all decided that they couldn't bear to be separated from Xiao Q and decided to keep him, He now guides Junliang from his home to the office and the two of them are now inseparable as a result of their mutual trust and friendship. Xiao Qu has also recently passed our Dr Dog exam which means that he is spreading more love and respect as a community dog in Shenzhen.

Another Dr Dog owner, Carol, has a dog called Coffee who she often calls "Chairman" for fun. On the day of our event she was touched to see an abandoned child - a burns victim with badly scalded skin and missing fingers who was gently holding and kissing Coffee and enjoying being offered Coffee's affectionate love in return. Carol commented on her microblog that "Dogs are so special. They are born to be loved by so many people - I am wiling to be the slave of dogs".

Such moments are irreplaceable and help us to know that Dr Dog continues to spread warmth and healing as the programme goes on.