A screenshot of a Chow Chow dyed like a panda at a cafe in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province Photo: Sina Weibo

Ever dreaming of raising a pet panda? A café in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, is promoting the next best thing - sort of. It is offering to dye your pet dog's fur with classic black and white marking of a panda for only 1,500 yuan ($212). 

The owner of a pet café in Chengdu, surnamed Huang, told the Chengdu Business Daily that he bought six Chow Chows whose fur were dyed like pandas about one month ago, and the canines have become extremely popular with guests. 

A viral video shows the dogs' ears, eyes, bellies and legs look very much like they belong on a panda. Guests are calling them "panda dogs."

Huang sniffed out a business opportunity from the popularity of the "panda dogs" and started to offer the dying service to his customers' dogs.  

The news triggered heated discussion on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo and the topic has been viewed nearly 200 million times as of press time. 

While some web users said the dogs are lovely, others worried that the dye might harm the skin and fur of the pets. 

"The dye harms animals, don't dye pets just for the look," commented a Weibo user. 

"The dye we use is imported and costs more than 800 yuan each," said Huang in his own defense. He says it take a whole day to dye a dog. 

Li Daibing, director of the West China Animal Hospital, said the proper fur dye isn't likely to harm a dog, but it's not a good idea to dye the fur of animals.  

It is not the first time that enthusiastic panda fans in China have created "panda dogs." 

A Chow Chow that was dyed to look like a panda was reportedly priced at around 100,000 yuan at a Beijing pet store in 2009.