Chinese Influencer to Sue Thieves After Dog Mistaken for Stray Is Stolen, Sold for £19, and Eaten at Restaurant

An influencer's missing dog, a Border Collie named Chutou, was stolen in Henan province, central China, sold for £19, and later eaten at a restaurant after thieves allegedly mistook it for a stray.

Footage and testimony emerged showing how the eight-year-old dog, owned by Chinese content creator Guo, vanished from his family's farm in Ningling county while he was travelling abroad in Georgia. Chutou had been left under the care of Guo's father.

Guo and his dog were already something of an online fixture, with videos of their travels attracting more than 1.5 million views. That visibility made the disappearance even more jarring for followers who had come to recognise Chutou as more than just a pet, but part of their social media timeline.

Influencer's Missing Dog Stolen by Thieves

A CCTV footage reportedly captured two individuals arriving on an electric scooter before snatching the dog from outside the family property. Chutou, despite wearing a collar and a GPS tracker, was taken within moments.

The tracker, according to the owner, had already run out of battery by the time he attempted to trace the animal.

The influencer's missing dog case escalated quickly. Guo returned to China after learning of the disappearance and offered a reward of around £550 for his dog's safe return. Days passed with no sign of Chutou.

On 14 May, one of the alleged thieves reportedly sold the dog to a trader for £19. The animal was then slaughtered that same day and served in a restaurant known for dog meat dishes.

By the time Guo located one of the suspects in a neighbouring village, the trail had already gone cold in the most irreversible way. The man reportedly admitted the sale but insisted he believed the animal was a stray and said, according to the report, 'the dog is dead, so stop making such a fuss. I haven't broken the law.'

Can Guo Pursue Legal Charges?

In Henan province, theft cases are typically only pursued if the value of stolen goods exceeds £220, creating a threshold that complicates prosecution in cases involving low financial valuations. Guo had reportedly purchased Chutou for around £220 in 2018, placing the case in a legally ambiguous space despite the emotional and social value attached to the animal.

Legal representatives cited in the reporting suggested that a purebred Border Collie could be worth around £1,100, though such valuations are not always decisive in practice. Authorities have so far treated the matter primarily as theft rather than animal cruelty..

There is currently no nationwide legislation in China explicitly prohibiting animal abuse, and while some cities, including Shenzhen and Zhuhai, have introduced bans on dog meat consumption, the practice remains legal in many regions. That patchwork of rules has left cases like Chutou's caught between criminal thresholds and cultural realities that vary sharply across the country.

Guo has since spoken publicly about the loss, saying the retrieval of his dog's remains was impossible after the restaurant confirmed the meat had already been discarded. The emotional weight of that detail has circulated online, especially among his viewers.

The influencer, determined, said he would pursue 'legal action' and will give updates to his followers as soon as he can.

Dog Meat in China

Dog meat is not a common everyday practice across China, but it does still exist in some regions, mainly in parts of the south and northeast. In those areas, there is a small, declining trade where stolen or stray dogs can sometimes be sold into informal supply chains that include restaurants serving dog meat.

However, this is not representative of the whole country. Many cities, including Shenzhen and Zhuhai, have banned eating dog meat entirely, and public attitudes have shifted strongly against it, especially among younger generations.

Unfortunately for Guo, there is no national law specifically banning dog meat consumption, which leaves uneven regional practices in place, though enforcement and demand have been falling in recent years.