For twenty years, it seemed that Zhou Tianxiao’s life was going nowhere. Ever since he was six years old, he spent most of his days wandering in the streets of Beijing or playing video games in internet cafes. This soon turned to drinking and smoking with his friends when he turned older. He was frequently broke and was living with his grandmother.
His parents divorced early on and left him behind. He dropped out of school at the age of 15. He never had a real future and couldn’t see himself having one. Then, when he was 26 years old, he met a Border Collie puppy and fell in love with it.
Sylar
Zhou brought the little puppy home and named him Sylar. The adorable pup gave him a sense of purpose, and he started spending more of his time with the pooch. He gave up his vices and started learning how to train a dog.
Every day he would train with Sylar, who was a fast learner. They would go to this one bridge in Beijing, where people started to watch them while they train. Zhou also started filming Sylar doing his tricks and posted them online. People started watching and sharing those videos, and soon they amassed a huge following.
As people were amazed by what they were doing, a lot of them started asking Zhou for advice on how to train their own dogs. Zhou began to create videos teaching other dog owners the knowledge he has on dog training. He also started an online store that sells dog food, toys, and supplies.
Both of his ventures became a big hit. Zhou started earning good money from his store, and his videos garnered millions of views. And he knew that all of the good fortunes that were happening was because of his dog. So he decided to give it all back to him by building him a mansion.
He bought a large property outside Beijing and converted an old warehouse into a doggy mansion. He made air-conditioned rooms, an extensive training field, and even a swimming pool. He eventually opened it to the public so that other dogs can come in and have fun too. And all of this happened because a dog’s love changed a man’s perspective in life.
Source: South China Morning Post via Youtube
