7 dogs abducted for slaughter in China escape and find their way home

©C Perret via Unsplash

Seven stolen dogs, a sudden escape and a return home: a story worthy of a movie script. A crazy story from the Jilin province in north-east China: a group of dogs made up of Corgis, Golden Retrievers, Labradors, a Pekingese and a German Shepherd managed to escape after being kidnapped by traffickers linked to a dog meat trade.

On March 16, a motorist spotted the dogs walking in a pack along a busy highway near Changchun, a scene that immediately struck the person who filmed them because of the way the pack behaved: the dogs were moving ahead together, encircling an injured German Shepherd and slowing their pace so as not to leave it behind. In the lead, according to eyewitness accounts, a Corgi kept turning around to make sure no one was missing.

A 17km journey and a video that made the rounds on the web

Videos posted on Chinese social media networks show the group making their way between traffic lanes and cultivated fields, ignoring attempts by passers-by to stop them. They didn't appear to be stray dogs, but a pack with a specific goal in mind. According to a local volunteer association, the dogs came from the same village and were already used to moving around together long before their abduction, united by a strong bond.

Volunteers followed their tracks, aided by a drone, as the story began to spread online. Within hours, the videos had exceeded 230 million views, turning the escape into a viral phenomenon. After about 17 kilometers, the seven dogs managed to return home, where they were picked up and returned to their respective owners from three different families.

A viral story that reopens the debate on a cruel trade

One of the owners recounted the relief he felt when he found his German Shepherd and Golden Retriever, stressing how lucky they were to see them alive again. Another owner pointed to the Corgi as the most adept at finding his way home, a role it had assumed at the time of the escape.

This case has rekindled the debate on the dog meat trade in China, which is still not banned nationwide. Some cities, such as Shenzhen, introduced a ban in 2020, but in other regions, pet abduction continues. According to local associations, stealing dogs or capturing strays remains the cheapest way to supply this market. In the meantime, the seven fugitives have found their homes, becoming the symbol of a story that the web has turned into a tale of four-legged courage.

(©GreenMe.it 2026/Managing editor: Julie Morgan - The Press Junction/Picture: C Perret via Unsplash)