Abandoned dog’s owner calls from US to say he will pay years of kennel fee arrears

The owner of an abandoned dog said he is willing to comply with a court judgment and pay what he owes to a boarding kennel after a court in Beijing arranged for the dog to be auctioned online on Nov 11.

In a phone call from the United States on Wednesday morning, the owner, surnamed Xiao, said he will compensate the boarding kennel for its losses as soon as possible before discussing the dog's next stay. 

Zhang Wei, a judge at Beijing’s Chaoyang District People’s Court, told The Mirror newspaper that now that the identity of the dog’s owner has been confirmed, the auction can be called off if Xiao transfers the money he owes to the boarding kennel before Nov 10. 

The male dog, a 4-year-old yellow-and-white shiba inu named Dengdeng, has become a sensation online after the court announced the auction last Thursday in a notice posted on its website. 

The notice said the dog, weighing 10 kilograms and 40 centimeters tall, has been sterilized and vaccinated. The starting bid was set at 500 yuan ($71). 

More than 1,000 people have paid a 50 yuan deposit to participate in the auction with over 10,000 having viewed the notice. Many commented on how cute Dengdeng is and expressed their willingness to offer him a new home. 

Xiao checked Dengdeng into the kennel in 2014 and agreed to pay 50 yuan a day for him to be taken care of, Beijing Youth Daily reported. He brought Dengdeng home that November but returned him a month later and made a one-time payment of 10,000 yuan for a year's care. 

The last time Dengdeng saw his owner was in February 2015, when Xiao took him back home for eight days. The boarding kennel did not receive any further payments from Xiao after that, and was unable to contact him.

It turned to the legal system last year and sued Xiao for more than 30,000 yuan in unpaid fees. After hearing the case, the court ordered Xiao, who failed to appear, to pick up the dog and pay what he owed. 

Xiao said it would be very troublesome to take Dengdeng abroad. He said he could ask one of his friends to pick up Dengdeng or, if the boarding kennel could find Dengdeng another home, he was happy to entrust Dengdeng to the new owner. 

Dengdeng has been living at the boarding kennel for over three years and has grown used to the environment, he said, adding that he could make a one-time payment if it is willing to keep him.