Dog with 1.5 million followers allegedly stolen, sold to restaurant for $27 and eaten

Warning: This article contains information which some readers may find distressing.

An influencer dog in China was allegedly sold and slaughtered for meat, according to his owner.

Chutou was a popular pooch on Chinese social media, with his owner Guo gaining over 1.5 million followers on Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, through sharing their life and adventures on the platform.

However, the Border Collie's story would end in heartbreak after Guo shared the devastating news that Chutou had been sold and eaten.

Chutou had been in the care of Guo's parents while the travel blogger had been away on a solo expedition to Georgia last month. However, on 11 May, he was informed by his father that Chutou had vanished, with surveillance footage showing two strangers abducting the pet on an electric scooter.

The pet vanished on 11 May, allegedly stolen from Guo's parents home(Douyin)

Devastated, Guo cut his trip short and rushed home to aid in the search for his beloved dog, eventually tracking down the man accused of stealing Chutou two weeks later.

It was here that Guo would learn Chutou's harrowing fate, with the alleged thief claiming that he'd sold the pet to a dog meat restaurant for 180 yuan (around $27), where it had been killed and eaten.

The man justified his actions by claiming that he'd mistaken Chutou for a stray, an explanation which Guo rejected, saying the pooch had been wearing a collar and GPS tracker at the time.

"The dog is dead, so stop making a fuss," the alleged thief added (per South China Morning Post). "I did not break the law."

The outlet added that Guo later tracked the restaurant down in hopes of recovering some of Chutou's fur, only to be told by the owner that it had been 'thrown in the rubbish long ago'.

Guo has been completely devastated by the news, sharing his grief through various Douyin updates.

Guo with Chutou (Douyin)

"I'm sorry, Chutou," he said in one video. "I can't forgive myself, and I can't forgive the thieves."

The blogger is also determined to pursue legal action on Chutou's behalf, refusing to give up on seeking justice for his beloved pet.

According to AsiaOne, the Ningling County Public Security Bureau in Shangqiu, Henan province, has reportedly opened an administrative case looking into Chutou's alleged kidnapping. Investigations are ongoing.