Dog With 1.5M Followers Stolen and Sold for $25

A beloved dog with 1.5 million online followers was stolen, sold for just $25, and slaughtered at a dog meat restaurant in China — and the owner can barely get justice because the country’s pet laws are nearly useless.

Story Snapshot

Chutou, a famous 8-year-old Border Collie, was stolen from a farm in China while his owner was traveling abroad.
Thieves on an electric bike took the dog and sold him to a dog meat restaurant for only 180 yuan — about $25.
Surveillance footage captured two strangers taking the dog, but China’s weak pet ownership laws have blocked the owner from getting justice.
The case went viral in China and worldwide, sparking outrage over both the theft and the country’s dog meat trade.

A Famous Dog Stolen and Sold for Pocket Change

Chutou was no ordinary dog. The 8-year-old Border Collie had more than 1.5 million followers on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, thanks to travel videos made with his owner, Guo, a popular Chinese influencer. While Guo was away on a trip, thieves struck. Surveillance cameras caught two strangers arriving on an electric bike and taking Chutou from the family’s farm. The dog was then sold to a dog meat restaurant for roughly $25.

Reports from the South China Morning Post say Chutou was slaughtered at the restaurant after the sale. Whether customers actually ate the dog has not been confirmed by any independent source. There are no restaurant records, forensic tests, or court documents publicly available that close every gap in the story. What is confirmed: the dog was stolen, sold, and killed. The theft itself is documented on camera.

Owner Tries to Fight Back, Hits a Wall

Guo tried to take legal action after learning what happened. But China’s laws on pet ownership created major obstacles. Pets in China are often treated more like property than family members under the law, which makes it hard to pursue serious criminal charges for theft and slaughter. The legal system gave Guo few tools to hold anyone accountable, even with surveillance footage in hand.

No restaurant has been publicly named in connection with the case. No arrests or charges have been reported. No court has issued a ruling. That leaves a frustrating gap for Guo and for the millions of people who followed Chutou online. The evidence points clearly to theft and slaughter, but the Chinese legal system has so far offered little remedy.

Outrage in China and Around the World

The story became the number one trending topic in China after it broke online. Chinese citizens flooded social media with anger — not just at the thieves, but at a system that makes it hard to protect pets and punish those who harm them. The case also drew international attention, shining a spotlight once again on China’s dog meat trade, which animal rights advocates have long criticized.

For Western audiences, the story hits close to home. Dogs are family. The idea that a beloved pet could be stolen and sold for less than the cost of a fast food meal is deeply disturbing. It also highlights what happens when a government fails to build strong legal protections for animals and their owners. China’s weak pet laws didn’t just fail Guo — they sent a signal that stealing and killing someone’s dog carries almost no real consequence. That’s a failure of basic justice, plain and simple.