Pet cafe's 'panda dogs' go viral in China

If you ever looked at your dog and thought: I wish it was a panda, well, a pet cafe in China is selling the service.

At just over $200 they'll dye puppies in black and white to resemble one of China's national symbols.

The Candy Planet Pet Cafe in Chengdu has gone viral over these dye jobs.

Owner Lu Yunning only opened last month (September) but he and his six chow-chow puppies have exploded on Chinese social media.

(SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) PET CAFE OWNER, LU YUNNING, SAYING:

"Right now there's a ton of cafes for dogs, cats, racoons, alpacas, ducks. We think they aren't creative. We wanted something novel."

Lu says visitors have doubled since the panda dogs got famous.

But... so far, he says visitors are more interested in pictures of the pups rather than his dye service which, he claims, is safe.

He says he only dyes the outer part of their fur.

The buzz around these dogs hasn't been all warm and fuzzy.

It's sparked some online debate in China, and some have accused Lu of abuse.

And animal rights group PETA has urged people to keep away.

The group's Asia vice president told Reuters that coating dogs with dyes is stressful and chemicals can trigger allergic reactions.