Shocking CCTV shared after dog with 1.5 million followers stolen, sold and eaten in restaurant

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

An image taken from CCTV footage shows the moment a dog was allegedly stolen before being sold for meat and served to customers in a restaurant.

Chutou the Border Collie was an influencer dog in China with around 1.5 million followers online, with his owner Guo posting content about his pet pooch on Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok (even though TikTok is already Chinese).

Sadly for pet and owner, when Guo went off on a solo journey abroad and couldn't bring his dog with him Chutou was sent to stay with his parents for a bit and then on 11 May he got the message that the dog was gone.

CCTV footage appeared to show the moment when a pair of suspected dog thieves nabbed Chutou and absconded on an electric scooter.

After his dad told him his dog was missing Guo cut his trip short and returned to China, managing to track down one of the people alleged to have stolen his dog.

Guo is seeking legal routes to punish the alleged thieves he believes stole and sold his pet dog for meat (Douyin)

Confronting the man, the dog owner learned that his confiscated canine companion had been sold to a dog meat restaurant for 180 yuan (around $27).

Chutou had since been butchered, served in the restaurant and eaten by customers, with the rest of the dog's remains discarded so Guo doesn't even have a tuft of fur to remember his pet by.

According to the South China Morning Post, the alleged thief who'd been spotted on CCTV told Guo: "The dog is dead, so stop making a fuss. I did not break the law."

While the alleged thief tried to claim he'd mistaken Chutou for a stray dog, Guo refused to accept that as an answer as the dog had a collar and a GPS tracker which should have been big clues that the animal had not been abandoned.

When he went to the restaurant they told him anything left of his dog had been 'thrown in the rubbish long ago'.

A moment captured on camera which appears to show two people stealing Chutou the dog and escaping on an electric scooter (Douyin)

As you can understand, the man is heartbroken at the loss of his dog.

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

While the alleged thief claims he broke no law, Guo is pursuing legal action against him.

AsiaOne reports the Ningling County Public Security Bureau in Shangqiu, Henan province, has opened a case looking into allegations of kidnapping a dog, and investigations are ongoing.