SHANGHAI - Yakult enthusiastically took a bite of the plated, shredded chicken and lettuce in front of him before licking his lips.

The black and white collie, named after a Japanese yoghurt drink, was one of 11 dogs gathered with their owners at the Kongshan Yunnan eatery in Shanghai to tuck into a meal organised to resemble the dinner traditionally held on the eve of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The feast, customary for Chinese-speaking communities around the world, brings together families to mark the end of one year and welcome another.

In this case, it heralds the Year of the Snake and officially will take place on Tuesday (Jan 28).

But in China, where people are choosing to adopt pets rather than have children, restaurants or online stores have started to offer dinner events and meal sets for cats and dogs, with at least one held a few days early on Saturday.

"He's my soulmate, he gives me a lot of emotional support," said Yakult's owner, 27-year-old Momo Ni. "Since it's time for the reunion dinner, I wanted to have one with my good friend, so that he may experience the Lunar New Year atmosphere."

A search for "pet's Lunar New Year's Eve dinner" on Chinese social media platform RedNote brings up dozens of results from freshly made meals to canned gift boxes.

Some sellers offer traditional Chinese delicacies, such as "eight treasures duck rice", adapted to canine palates.

Gu Jiayu, a co-owner of Kongshan Yunnan eatery, said the restaurant decided to give its patrons the opportunity to have a New Year meal with their pets.

While their owners enjoyed dishes such as a mushroom chicken stew, their dogs partook of freshly prepared shredded chicken breast, boiled lettuce and dog treats.

"These days, especially in the big cities, many people work very hard and are under a lot of stress. They see their pets as their companion and even their own kids," she said.

China's pet care market, which comprises food as well as products such as cat litter and dietary supplements, grew by almost 40 per cent since 2020 to be worth 94.6 billion yuan (S$17.5 billion) last year, data from Euromonitor showed.

Maltipoo Rousong, whose Chinese name translates as "pork floss", a popular dried meat snack in China, was another dog treated to the meal.

"We'll make her a dog meal and when it comes to New Year gifts, my parents will probably give her a red packet," said her owner, 28-year-old Daisy Xu, referring to the lucky red gift packets that people typically fill with money at Lunar New Year.

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Source: Reuters