On March 2, 2022, after a couple in Huidong County, Huizhou, Guangdong were taken into COVID isolation, their three-year-old Samoyed, Xueqiu, was left in a storage/office space. The owner later wrote on Weibo that workers had removed several cameras under the pretext of nucleic-acid sampling and then came back saying they would disinfect the premises. A remaining hidden camera recorded two people in protective suits entering and using a dog-catching tool and sticks against Xueqiu. Sing Tao later reported that Daling Subdistrict admitted the handling was crude and improper, apologized to the owners and suspended the workers involved.

A life waiting at home while the owners were isolated

Public reports say that on March 2, 2022, Xueqiu's male owner was reported as an asymptomatic COVID case and isolated in Huizhou, while the female owner, a close contact, was isolated elsewhere. Their Samoyed Xueqiu remained in a storage/office space in Daling Subdistrict, Huidong County.

Xueqiu was three years and three months old. In her public appeal, the owner wrote that the dog had long been family. Isolation cut off the owners' ability to act and left the animal at home with no one physically present to protect her.

Entering in the name of disinfection, ending a life with sticks

China Digital Times preserved the owner's account: workers had earlier removed several cameras in the name of taking nucleic-acid samples, while one camera hidden in a corner remained. The owner was told workers would come to disinfect; when she opened the camera feed, she saw two people in protective suits entering the room.

Sing Tao reported that the circulating CCTV footage showed two people using long sticks toward a corner of the room; after roughly thirty seconds, the dog's barking stopped. Animal Friendly Network and other public pages preserved stills of the footage. The most graphic sound and details do not need to be replayed, but the nature of the act must be recorded: Xueqiu was not a loose attacking dog, nor an animal euthanized after professional medical assessment. She was killed while her owners could not be present, without sufficient notice or a negotiated alternative.

Official aftermath: apology, suspension, and a dog who did not return

Sing Tao's follow-up report said Daling Subdistrict stated that multiple environmental samples in the patient's workplace had tested positive and that an adult Samoyed in the room was considered likely infected. It also said the workers' handling was crude and improper, that they were criticized and suspended, and that the subdistrict had apologized to the owners.

That response at least showed that beating the dog was not a natural or unquestionable pandemic-control measure. But apology and suspension could not bring Xueqiu back. For the owners, this was not a replaceable item but a family member who had lived with them for more than three years.

A companion animal should not be treated as an automatic target for elimination

Pandemic management faced pressure and uncertainty, but public-health guidance has long stated that COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to person and that animals spreading it to people is a low risk. Even if environmental samples were positive, a companion animal should not automatically be treated as a risk to be quickly destroyed.

Reports such as The Beijing News discussed alternatives for unattended pets: transfer procedures, isolation observation, third-party professional care and regular testing. Later examples in Shenzhen and Chengdu showed that boarding, feeding visits and observation were possible. Brutal killing was not the only option, nor the more scientific one.

Why Xueqiu should be remembered

Xueqiu's death was not caused directly by the virus. It was a secondary harm caused by crude management, missing procedure and disregard for life. Recording it is not about setting people against public-health work, but about keeping a clear line: a public crisis cannot become an excuse to injure innocent lives at will.

When owners are isolated, animals left behind cannot call for help or demand procedure. Precisely then, human systems should become more careful and responsible. For Xueqiu, and for every cat or dog later left behind a closed door, this case should not disappear.

Timeline

• March 2, 2022: An owner in Daling Subdistrict, Huidong County was reported as an asymptomatic COVID case and isolated; the Samoyed Xueqiu remained in a storage/office space.
• March 4, 2022: The Weibo user 'Youzhi Xueqiu' posted a public appeal, saying workers entered under the name of disinfection and killed Xueqiu; CCTV footage spread online.
• Around March 7, 2022: Sing Tao reported that Daling Subdistrict admitted the handling was crude and improper, apologized to the owners and suspended the workers involved.

Public Sources

• China Digital Times: Huizhou pandemic workers killed a dog after removing home cameras
• Sing Tao Headline: Huizhou pet dog beaten to death by pandemic-control workers
• Sing Tao Headline: officials apologize and suspend workers after the Huizhou dog killing
• Animal Friendly Network: harsh pandemic pet policies and proposed culling measures in China
• The Beijing News: can pet care and pandemic control be reconciled?