A cafe in China featuring chow chow dogs painted as panda cubs¹ has prompted widespread criticism over the treatment of the pets.

中国一家咖啡馆将松狮犬打扮成熊猫幼仔的样子，这种对待宠物的方式引发了人们的广泛批评。

The Cute Pet Games cafe opened last month in Chengdu in the south-west Sichuan province, home to a large proportion of the endangered bear species, featuring six fluffy² chow chows dyed white and black.

这家名为“可爱宠物游戏”的咖啡馆上个月在中国西南的四川省成都市开张，濒危大熊猫大部分都生活在该省。咖啡馆中有六只毛茸茸的松狮犬被染成黑白相间的模样。

A video of the dogs roaming around the cafe has gone viral on Chinese social media. In the video, posted by Chengdu Economic Daily, the owner of the cafe said it was also offering a dyeing service for 1,500 yuan to patrons who wished to give their pets a similar makeover.

一段狗狗们在咖啡馆里闲逛的视频在中国社交媒体上疯传。在《成都商报》发布的这段视频中，这家咖啡馆的老板表示，如果顾客想给自己的宠物做一次类似的改头换面，他们还将提供价格为1500元的染色服务。

Internet users criticised the cafe's treatment of the dogs, which were purchased already dyed, according to the owner. "In the name of loving animals, these pet cafes just want to make money," one said. Another said: "I suggest dyeing the dog owners black and white."据店主介绍，这些狗买回来时就已经染色了，网友们对这家咖啡馆对待宠物的方式提出批评。有人说：“这些宠物咖啡馆打着爱护动物的名义，只是为了赚钱。”还有人说：“我建议把狗主人染成黑色和白色。”

Some pointed³ to comments by vets⁴ that dyeing a dog can damage its skin. "Dogs are dogs. Dyeing them doesn't turn them into pandas, and they are living beings. You ... hurt them just for the sake of what you think looks good."一些人指出，兽医评论称给狗染色会损害其皮肤。“狗就是狗。给它们染色不会把它们变成熊猫，它们是活生生的动物。你只是为了你认为的好看，就伤害它们。”

Others, calling the animals "panda dogs", defended the cafe owner's right to change the pets' appearance. "It's your dog. You get to decide. Very cute," one said.

还有人称这些动物为“熊猫狗”，为咖啡馆老板改变宠物外貌的权利辩护。有人说，“这是你的狗。你自己决定。非常可爱。”

Following the online response, the cafe said on its Weibo page that it would not continue to offer the dyeing service. "Chengdu is the home of pandas. We wanted to do something different, to differentiate⁵ us from other regular dog cafes and pet shops," the owner of the cafe, surnamed Huang, told local media.

该咖啡馆在其微博上回应这些评论说，不会继续提供染色服务。咖啡馆老板黄先生告诉当地媒体说：“成都是熊猫的故乡。我们想做点与众不同的事情，把自己和其他普通的狗狗咖啡馆和宠物店区分开来。”

In a statement posted on Weibo on Tuesday, the cafe said: "As their owners, their lives are much better than ours. They are also very healthy. Netizens please don't project your thoughts on to us."周二（10月22日），这家咖啡馆在微博上发表声明称：“作为它们的主人，它们的日子过得比我们好多了，它们也很健康，各位网友们不要脑补那些有的没的。”