Employees of a pet shop in Nanshan Flower World with pet dogs.
PET shops have experienced their best business of the year in recent days as pet owners bade farewell to their pets for the Spring Festival holidays.
Each of the 10 branches of Shenzhen R. Hope Pet Medical Services Organization has signed contracts with an average of 40 families in recent days to take care of family pets for the holiday period.
Although the service is more expensive than leaving pets with friends, many people consider it safer and more convenient to entrust them to a professional organization, and preferable to bothering their friends, said an employee with the organization, named Chen.
"It costs 40 yuan (US$5.86) a day for a dog under 2.5 kilograms and 80 yuan a day for a dog above 2.5 kilograms on ordinary days, but charges have been increased to 60 and 120 yuan respectively for the Spring Festival holidays," said Wen Kun, owner of a pet store on Beidou Road in Luohu District.
"I used to leave my pet at my friends' houses when I was away. But it caused trouble for them," said Wu Jiali, a pet owner who was looking for a store to take care of her dog on Beidou Road. "It's more convenient to leave my dog at a pet shop," she said.
Owners need to present a certificate of vaccination if they want to consign their pets to a store.
In other holiday-related news, car rentals are also becoming increasingly popular as the holidays approach.
"All our cars have been reserved for the Spring Festival - 30 percent more than at usual times," said Wu Dandan, an official with Shenzhen Zhizun Vehicle Rental Co. Ltd., the city's biggest vehicle rental company.
Around 60 percent of customers rented cars to travel home, 20 percent used the cars to travel to neighboring cities, while the remaining 20 percent were travelers visiting Shenzhen, said Wu.
"Going back home by rental car is more convenient and is little more expensive than the coach," said Xu Hua, a resident who decided to rent a car with four other friends. It costs 850 yuan for five people to go home by coach and 1,300 yuan by rental car. "The car can also be used to visit relatives or short-distance travel," Xu said.
Source:Shenzhen Daily
