Dogs are our best friends

Canines give a real sense of companionship to people as TV documentary highlights their importance and loyalty to humans, Wang Ru reports.

We know the phrase that describes a man's best friend. But dogs really can offer companionship. Pets in general can help banish loneliness but a dog can have a special connection with its owner.

Luo Ling has had a difficult life. She drifted in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, for 19 years since she fled from her family as a teenager to escape, she claims, domestic violence. She is not in the best of health and her meager income has come from selling homemade pet snacks on the street. She was often homeless due to the lack of money. But she has had companions: Bengbeng and Emma, two dogs she picked on the street. They have always been by her side giving her support and happiness.

"People may frown upon me, but my dogs never do," she says in the eight-episode documentary Chong Wu Yi Qian Ling Yi Ye (Tales from the Thousand and One Nights About Pets), which is airing on Tencent Video. The public response confirms that it has touched many people on the internet.

The production tells 24 stories about people, especially young people, in cities and their pets, and tries to view society from the angle of the animals. It has scored 8.9 points out of 10 on China's popular review site Douban.

"Pets accompany people. At the same time, they become mirrors to reflect many things about people," says Wang Jiayi, a director of the documentary. "We want to observe Chinese families and the current society from the angle of pets, and thus show the lifestyle and emotional states of people who raise pets."

She adds, "Many people may find it too heavy to watch some documentaries about society, but through the lens of pets, which are adorable and amusing, they can find it easier to approach social reality."

The second episode tells the story of a beagle that was adopted, by the owner of a nursing home, after being used in laboratory experiments. The dog, initially shy, gradually got used to human company and brought vigor and happiness to the residents of the home.