Do Chinese people overstress their dogs?

For many Chinese people, pets are like family members. And increasingly, Chinese tourists are taking their pets with them on vacation, hoping for a good time not only for themselves, but for their furry companions as well.

That's why Mr Hou from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, together with several family members and his pet dog, drove nearly 2,000 kilometers to spend their National Day holidays at Jiuzhaigou, a nature reserve and national park located in northern Sichuan Province. However, to their surprise, the pet was not allowed to enter the park. After an argument with park staff, Hou and his relatives angrily left.

The bond between man and dog has grown over a long period of time. Since ancient times, dogs have been kept for security reasons, especially in China's rural areas. They were traditionally looked on as "animals" rather than "pets."

The few dogs in urban areas were more likely to end up on a dinner plate than taken care of in someone's home.

Yet the relationship between dogs and humans has changed in recent years, and keeping dogs as pets has become a habit among many middle-class families in China.

This phenomenon, as a New York Times article observed in 2010, has emerged alongside China's economic renaissance, a transformation "from impoverished peasant to first-world citizen."

This renaissance has not only improved people's livelihoods, but also changed their outlooks. They have become accustomed to raising dogs as unconditionally loyal, loving pets that can lick their wounds when they feel lonely and hurt.

For families without children, a pet can serve as a stand-in for a child, while white-collar workers can look forward to coming home to a loving welcome after a rough day at work.

This also explains animal rights activists' boycott in recent years of an annual dog meat festival in Yulin, a city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The festival, a traditional celebration of the summer solstice, dates back generations.

Meanwhile in July, a court in Zhejiang Province ordered a driver whose car hit a dog to pay the owner almost 20,000 yuan ($3,260), four times the original price of the dog.

The judge explained that a pet is a special form of property and forms an emotional connection with its owner. Therefore, the compensation did not necessarily have to be limited to the original price of the pet.

But there are instances where the newfound enthusiasm for dogs has become yet another excuse for tasteless consumption, rather than a chance to form an emotional bond.

For people with more money than sense, squandering their money on a luxurious Tibetan mastiff does not necessarily mean they hold deep affection toward dogs.

In the case of Mr Hou and his family, a quarrel could have been avoided if the staff had shown some understanding for the Hou family's love for their pet, and if the family in turn had shown respect for the park's rules.

To put it simply, if Hou and his relatives believe there's a human element to their pets, they should also believe that the pet doesn't want to see its owners getting unhappy on its account.

Man and pet should be sources of happiness for each other, the ideal relationship between two creatures.