Julie the dog was a traveler. Her owner, Leewen Zhang, had brought the 8-year-old pooch from California to her new home in China and she was about to get another stamp on her "pawport." But unfortunately,
tragedy struck. Leewan and Julie were en route to Europe, staying in the town of Yubei. Leewan had hoped she would be able to nurse Julie to health from a heart condition before they continued on their way.
But while in Yubei someone fed Julie rat poison-laced meat causing her an excruciating death. In a heartbreaking photo uploaded by Leewan, you see her clutching her dead dog on the floor of what looks to be an airport. Her face is contorted into an anguished scream. Julie says she had previously overheard her neighbors threatening to kill dogs and now wonders if those same people actually went through with their sick plan and made Julie one of their victims.
Hundreds of thousands of Chinese dogs are killed each year by poisoning. And while people like Leewan beg the government to do something about the epidemic, there are currently no laws or protections to stop these senseless killings.
Even when these killers are caught, the lack of animal protections means there's no framework in place to punish the culprit.That must change. It is time China take animal cruelty seriously and hold animal abusers accountable for their despicable actions. No longer should someone be able to kill, maim or injure another living being in China and get away with it. It must stop and the Chinese government is the only one that can set in place a legal framework that starts to fix the problem.
Please sign the petition and ask that China help put an end to the rampant animal cruelty within their borders and pass legislation protecting animals from abuse. 