According to 31-year-old Zhou Tianxiao, he lived with his grandmother as he did not have any job four years ago. However, after meeting his dog Sylar, he achieved incredible success in his life.
And as a return gift, he built a “pet paradise” in Beijing’s Shunyi district which serves as the home for his border collie. The luxury residence comes with beautiful air-conditioned rooms, a heated pool, a trampoline, a spa and a spacious lawn.
In an interview, Mr Tianxiao confessed that he became an extremely rebellious kid and spent his days playing games in internet cafes and drinking. It was a result of his parents being divorced during his childhood.
He says to China Daily, “My beloved Sylar changed my life, so I will give it back everything I have. That life with hardship lasted for more than a decade. I heard that dogs were loyal. No matter how poor their owners were, they will still be with them. That’s why I decided to have a dog,”
When he was low in his life, he sought the companionship of Sylar. Zhou says that he felt he regained the lost love after Sylar came to his life. And, as of now, the dog has become more than a family member for him.
At his initial days when he met Sylar, Zhou watched a lot of YouTube videos of professional dog trainers. He learned the techniques and used them to teach Sylar different tricks like doing a high-five, play dead and walk like a human on tables.
Zhou shoot videos of Sylar and share them online. Within a short span of time, the videos gained popularity and the smart pooch rose to fame, earning thousands of followers and attracting millions of views on social media platforms.
This encouraged Mr Zhou to open a dog food and toy store on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao. He has rented an 8,600 square kilometre courtyard in a rural area and spent the money he saved from his online business to build a mansion worth INR 3.5 crores for Sylar.
Sylar’s mansion was opened to the public in May so other dogs can experience the luxuries Zhou’s beloved dog had been enjoying for about a year now. For a fee, dogs can sleep in air-conditioned rooms with giant pillows and personal backyards. They can also take a medicinal bath in the spa for 175 yuan ($26) or get a soothing oil massage for 400 yuan ($58).
