A story about 100 husky dogs that escaped from a pet cafe after someone forgot to close the door has delighted mainland social media.

The beloved pets were almost lost when they rushed out of the cafe in a shopping centre in Guangdong province, southeastern China.

Staff reacted quickly and managed to round them all up, Xigua Video reported.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

Surveillance footage shows the clearly delighted canines as they scamper around the shopping centre, ignoring the calls of cafe staff.

“All the huskies ran out of the cafe,” a member of staff, surnamed Huo, told Xigua Video, adding: “It’s very lucky they were found so soon.”

The incident happened on March 12 when the owner visited her cafe and the huskies became very excited.

“The huskies haven’t seen the owner for a while,” Huo said.

A customer then arrived but forgot to close the door, which was when the dogs made their bid for freedom.

Staff immediately chased after the excited canines, and one female employee ushered some back into the cafe, while Huo scooped the rest up in his arms one by one.

After a while, most of the huskies were found, leaving a few intrepid mutts still enjoying their fun. With a bit more effort, Huo eventually rounded them all up.

“To ‘punish’ the disobedient huskies, we gave them delicious chicken legs,” Huo joked.

Many people on mainland social media were delighted by the story.

“Hahaha, it feels like the joy of pupils running out of a school,” one person said, while another wrote: “The great carnival of huskies.”

“Let’s enjoy the great escape, huskies,” said a third.

“It looks so much fun. How wonderful it would be if I met such a joyful escape,” another said.

Pet cafes have become increasingly popular in China.

According to Xifei Daily, 3,638 pet cafes were newly opened in Shanghai in 2020. To spend one hour at a cafe, the cost ranges from 60 yuan (US$8) to 200 yuan.

Chinese market research firm iiMedia Research reported in 2023 that the turnover of the country’s pet industry reached 494 billion yuan (US$68 billion) in 2022.

More from South China Morning Post:

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2024.