A SHENZHEN citizen surnamed Shu recently purchased an abandoned shiba inu at an auction for 160,010 yuan (US$25,057) and is now on road to bring the dog home in Shenzhen, according to DT News.

Deng Deng, the 8-year-old shiba inu, was left at a pet training center in Beijing in 2014 and lost contact with the owner the following year.

The center finally sued the owner surnamed Xiao and demanded he pay the 60,000 yuan-fostering fee in 2017. The court failed to contact the owner and then it advertised Deng Deng’s auction online in 2018.

The ad went viral on Chinese social media and even made Xiao aware of the auction.

Xiao then contacted the court, claiming that he was not in the country over the years and accidentally lost the contact information of the center. Xiao paid the fee, and the auction was thus withdrawn.

However, three years later, Xiao went missing again. Deng Deng went under hammer once again and was sold at the auction for 160,010 yuan.

Shu said that although the auction price is much higher than market prices, sometimes he just felt he needed to do something he wanted.

Shu added it took some effort to collect the money, but it would not place a financial burden on him.

Given the pandemic, Shu decided to drive himself to bring the dog back to Shenzhen. Shu completed all procedures in Beijing on Nov. 18 and suggested he would register Deng Deng as required when they arrive in Shenzhen.

The center also sent Shu a letter including Deng Deng’s basic information and habits when seeing off Deng Deng.

Shu said he hoped to help promote the rule of law by doing charitable acts like this. Many netizens showed their sympathy and welcomed Deng Deng to Shenzhen.  (Wang Jingli)