The Hongcouver | Meet Zhuang Zhuang: Not your typical immigrant success story

There are plenty of Chinese immigrant success stories in Vancouver. But I doubt there are many less likely than that of Zhuang Zhuang.

I met the former Beijing resident in a shop in the well-heeled neighbourhood of Kerrisdale, where he was wetly introducing himself to fellow customers who made the error of coming within range of his tongue. “Great guard dog, I bet,” I said to his owner, Julie-Anna Vogel, as I wiped slobber off my hands. 

I took a closer look at Zhuang Zhuang, grinning up at us. An impressive white fluffball of a dog (a purebred Samoyed, as close as can be established), Zhuang Zhuang had only three legs but nevertheless looked pretty pleased with himself – as well he might. 

Vogel later described the unlikely path that brought Zhuang Zhuang into her life. She was living in Beijing in May 2012, with banker husband John and sons Hunter and Jack, when their pet dog Chowder died of heart problems. “Chowder was the love of my life,” said Vogel with a sigh. “A big dog with a big bark, but not a terribly friendly dog.

“I was writing a thank-you note to the vet, and I was getting the address off the internet, and like a complete masochist I go to the section of dogs up for adoption. The very last dog was Zhuang,” Vogel said. “He had been on their site forever, I think because he had the three legs. No-one wanted him.”

Zhuang Zhuang had been picked up by an amateur dog rescuer. His pure breeding suggests he was once someone’s pet, but had somehow ended up fending for himself on the streets of Beijing.  His back right leg was missing from above the paw. The location of the injury does not suggest professional amputation, but rather that Zhuang Zhuang gnawed his own leg off, perhaps after having been hit by a car or attacked by another dog. 

Vogel couldn’t resist going to meet Zhuang Zhuang. He bore little resemblance to the confidently regal beast he is now. For a start, his keepers had given him a radical shave to help him cope with the impending Beijing summer. “He looked like a big white rat,” said Vogel. He cowered from Vogel and her sons. “It took him about 10 minutes to walk over to me. He wouldn’t even go near the boys,” said Vogel.