♪ ♪ ♪ china's pet industry is growing year by year, but many animals are being abandoned or neglected by their owners.

>> liu works as a volunteer for together animals, an animal rights group operating mainly in beijing. the group, together with nonmembers, treats and cares for unwanted and discarded pets. they have taken in 150 dogs at

this shelter in hube province. they were about to be sold for meat or fur, but the group was just able to save them. zhao runs the facility. he is against the customer eating dog and taking action against illegal meat sales n. may, 2015, he discovered a truckloaded with dogs on a highway in tan gene, about 200 kilomotors from beijing, heading towards the southeast. 30 of the 485 dogs were tibetan mastiffs, a popular breed that was once sold from several thousand to millions of u.s. dollars and considered a sound business investment.

>> zhau followed the truck for about five hours. he contacted the authorities and the dogs were rescued. the animals were cramped into small cages, emaciated from not being fed or given too little water.

>> tibetan mastiffs were once called the dog of god in china. but following a huge boom in popularity nearly all that remains are unwanted mongrels. until the 1980s, the chinese capital of beijing banned the ownership of dogs as pets, as it was considered boo sha waugh. in 2013, a restriction was implemented again in certain parts of the city. the leon dog market was once the largest place to buy pet dogs in

beijing. it's about to be relocated due to redevelopment and many sellers have already moved out. liu has heard that buyers are purchasing dog meat from people who are leaving. many of the animals sold for meat are large dogs, such as tibetan mastiffs, which have lost their popularity as pets. all of the stores must be gone by september. but while the streets are very quiet a few stores are still open for business.

>> signs for tibetan mastiffs line the once-crowded streets. and stores look like they have been closed for several months. >> as the craze for tibetan mastiffs was coming to an end, numerous cases in which people were being attacked began to

emerge all over china. in most cases, owners simply weren't able to discipline and control one of the world's largest dogs. now, the places that specialized in big dogs are almost all desserted. >> we came across some tibetan mastiffs that looked abandoned and neglected. there are no signs of the store being open, or anyone taking care of the dogs. the foul stench of excream end and unsanitary conditions permeate the air. every animal looks scrawny with

emaysiation. >> liu begins recording information on her smart phone. she has discovered evidence of people who want to buy dog meat and makes a note of their contact details. ads are painted on walls everywhere.

>> liu plans to try to rescue the dogs that have already been sold to the meat buyers. in 2011, a single tibetan mastiff sold for a record over 1 $1 million u.s. dollars in china. in the same year, dog shows for such prize animals were held

almost every month all over the country. attendees aimed to breed dogs that could claim top awards. if a puppy was well could claim well over $100,000 u.s. >> amidst the boom, tibetan mastiffs were known as the dogs of god because they were known to bring wealth and happiness. with that, many breeders obtained many dogs overnight with hopes of getting rich quick. during that period, we met a man who had become a breeder six months earlier.

wong should dong started his business with the money he made from real estate. huang . >> huang ran a breeding facility specializing in tibetan mastiffs. he named his business, paradise for continue tibetan mastiffs. he would invite wealthy people from rural areas to sell them parent dogs or rent them dogs for stud. on good days, he could earn up to several hundred thousand u.s. dollars.

>> it's been four years since we visited huang's breeding facility. the sign on the gate has changed. and no one responded to our calls. a car approaches while we are

outside. >> the buildings are the same, but there are no spaces for puppies to play around. the huge cages for displays adult dogs are also gone. the man tells us his parents purchased the facility and left him in charge of breeding tibetan mastiffs. he says he's never met huang. sales of tibetan mastiffs peaked in 2012, but the increase in overnight breeders led to a proliferation of mongrel breeds.

huang shall pung is a breeder who decided to quit the industry. he has always had a fondness for tibetan mastiffs and began breeding in 2003 after retiring from his previous job. >> huang always insisted on breeding pedigree tib etdan mastiffs only. his search for purists took him to their home land of tibet on numerous occasions.

>> when he decided to leave the industry, huang gave some of his best dogs to a friend, another breeder equally dedicated to breeding pure-bred animals.

>> a tibetan mastiff requires the same attention and care as three average-sized dogs. being strong and healthy is a must. pedigree tibetan mastiffs are very loyal to their masters. they are so strong that they can take down a tiger if they feel threatened. for these reasons, one

well-known breeder refuses to sell his pure bred dogs to anyone. his breeding farm is a former military facility covering a 20,000 square meter area. he currently keeps 60 tibetan mastiffs. the facility has spaces for the dogs to exercise, eat, have their hair trimmed, and to be treated for illness. gao was born in inner mongolia and grew up living with tibetan

mastiffs since he was a child. after graduating from college, he worked for a major media outlet in beijing and spent most of his earnings on tibetan mastiffs. goats roam freely around the courtyard, there to help raise the dogs. >> during the peak of china's tibetan mastiff craze, gao's dogs continually won contests. but he was concerned about the selling of mongrel breeds only for profit.

now that the trend has waned, gao holds study sessions for his peers and new breeders, where information is also exchanged. this man only began breeding last year. until then, he was just a fan and owner of a tibetan mastiff.

>> pedigree tibetan mastiffs are in demand among the wealthy in china. gao hopes to sell his own dogs in the future and continue breeding. owning a tibet aan mastiff was onthe means of many chinese citizens. but the high prices only fuelled the fire to have one. animal rights activist liu contacted us. she wants to take us to see a

tibetan mastiff. when we reach her apartment, seven dogs are running around. she has taken them in as she can't find them new homes no matter how hard she tries.

>> liu is from a province where it's customary to eat dog meat on special occasions. but she always opposed it, beg her parents and other adults to stop. gi gi her parents and other adults to stop. beggin her parents and oth adults to stop. g her parents an adults to stop. >> she takes to us see the tibetan mastiff she wanted to show us. it's being kept in a town two hours away.

she called the dog do-akhyi, which means the bringer of good fortunate. she rescued her two years ago on line. she said the dog was poorly cared for and had a skin disease caused by ticks living in its long hair. she suspects that's why he was abandoned.

>> dog love gao sent us a video. it shows tibetan mastiff puppies being transferred to a breeding farm in inner mongolia. the dogs reportedly spend three

months there every year to avoid the hot beijing summer. we later see a man walking a tibetan mastiff. he says he has always loved animals since he was a child and went into breeding two years ago after retiring. to fulfill his dream, he left his family in the rural village he comes from and now lives alone in beijing.

>> tibetan mastiffs have been traded like a commodity in china and their changing valuation caused both joy and sorrow. but unlike a commodity, a dog's life cannot simply be thrown away. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

glad to have you with us on this edition of news line. it's thursday, september 3rd, i'm kathryn kobayashi in tokyo. chinese leaders will hold a parade to thursday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of what they call their victory over japan. about 12,000 service members will take part in the event in tiananmen square. officials plan to showcase 40 types of