Lonely old woman lives with dozens of dogs; neighbors all moved out

A senior woman in Xi’an, city in central China’s Shaanxi province, is living with nothing but dozens of stray dogs. While her love of dogs shows of her benevolence and compassion, the huge number of pets at her apartment is causing hygiene problems that become disturbing to others. One by one, her neighbors had to move away due to the potential risk of dog attack and the smell in the building.

Surnamed Zhang, the 78-year-old woman lives alone in a small apartment, making her ends meet by collecting garbage every day. She said she has nothing left but these dogs. “These dogs and I are one family. Without them, I don’t know how I could stay alive,” she said.

The woman actually has a daughter, and a 10-year-old grandchild. But the daughter seldom contacted her. Speaking of her daughter, Zhang shared that her love towards dogs was in fact begun from her daughter. When she was a little girl, she desperately begged Zhang to either buy a dog or a TV for her. Zhang didn’t have much money, and she reckoned that a dog was cheaper than a TV, so she decided to go for the former. Years have gone by, her daughter is now married and moved away, but the dog is still with her.