By Spooky on August 27th, 2025 Category: Animals
Visitors at the 27th Asian Pet Show in Shanghai were recently shocked by the full-back tattoo of a Mexican hairless dog whose owner claimed it didn’t feel any pain.
Photos of a hairless dog with a Yakuza-style full-back tattoo recently went viral on Chinese social media, sparking outrage among animal lovers. The pics were taken at the Asian Pet Show held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center earlier this month, where the dog was one of the most popular attractions. According to multiple media sources, the dog’s owner proudly showed off the massive artwork on its back, confirming that it was a real tattoo for which his pet didn’t need anesthesia because of its high tolerance for pain.
The viral photos show that the Mexican hairless dog’s back is covered with colorful tattoos, with a dragon face in the middle. The dragon’s body occupies the dog’s back and even extends to the upper half of its limbs. In the pics, the canine also sported a large gold chain and a wristwatch on one of its front legs.
The incident angered animal lovers, many of whom demanded an apology from the owner and asked the organizers of the pet show to give an explanation as to whether the “tattooed dog” was invited by the exhibitors to attract attention to the event.
Experts pointed out that from a health and animal welfare perspective, there is no such thing as a “painless and safe” pet tattoo, because dogs’ skin is thinner than humans’ and their nerves are denser.
“Thinner skin areas, such as the wrist, usually have a higher pain index because there is less fat and muscle under the skin and the nerve endings are more dense. Therefore, tattooing on thin skin areas will cause more pain,” one tattoo artist said.
Taiwanese news outlet EBC claims that the dog’s owner told attendees at the Shanghai Asian Pet Show that he could arrange for their pets to get tattooed for 2,000 to 3,000 yuan ($280 to $420), which enraged animal rights activists even more.
