Zhu Jianqiang, China's Top Pig

So Time has a man of the year, but where's its animal of the year? Surely we haven't forgotten the vital role animals play in our daily welfare, largely alimentary as it may be.

China hasn't forgotten the fauna, and has gone so far as to include a list of animals in its "Moving China" awards. A Sichuanese pig named Strong took first place this year. Pigs have always been admired in China, symbols of a family's wealth and abundance, unlike the West, where they are merely guarantors of side meat for breakfast.

Strong pig has a rep for more than making bacon, however. Strong not only survived the May 12^th Sichuan earthquake, he spent more than a month trapped under rubble before being rescued. Unlike America, where even a talking pig like Wilbur still faces slaughter, China showed its respect for Strong's uncommon valor by granting him a lifetime reprieve from the butcher's block. An insurance company gave him a ten-year policy, and Sichuan's Jianchuan Museum gave him a home, where visitors still throng to see a living exemplar of never-day-die.

Sadly, fame and fortune have changed Strong. He just lies around eating all day like a fat, lazy... the metaphor escapes us. Having grown disdainful of his fans, he frequently blocks the door to his quarters with a porky haunch, and has been known to chase camera-wielding paps off in a rush of pink-eyed fury.

So much for drawing inspiration from a hog. But there are other uncommon animals from the "Moving China" list. Maybe we can learn something from them.

Love Birds

The ‘animals are animals' school would predict that one bird losing its mate to traffic would simply fly off to safety. But when a male finch met its end on the streets of Chongqing, his mate stayed by his side for hours, heedless of her safety or the quickly-growing crowd around her. Two sanitation workers finally hauled off the dead bird, but the image of reckless fealty stays etched in the public imagination.

The Good Shepherds

Residents of Lanzhou's Xigu district can set there watches by an interesting daily spectacle: two German Shepherds pulling a tricycle bearing an old man. In his late seventies, the man is too infirm to walk, and cannot afford an alternative mode of transportation. Mother and son, the shepherds are extra cautious in traffic, making sure all cars have stopped before pulling their master across the road.

Return of the Turtle

A devout son, Mr. Yu bought a turtle with which to prepare a tonic soup for his ailing parents. Whatever it was about the terrapin, a quizzical grin, a twinkling eye, we'll never know, but Yu didn't have the heart to throw it in the pot. He set it free, only to see it return a short time later. The Born Free scenario was played out another four times; after the fifth return Yu realized he had a friend for life.

Stray Cat Blues

Like the birds from Chongqing, two stray cats were parted by death. And like the female finch, the tabby stayed by his dead mate for hours, embracing the corpse, and wailing with that eerie intensity characteristic of feline pipes. Easy to believe onlookers' claims that the pair had been inseparable while alive.

Little Dog, Big Heart

Another story of death on the road, but then traffic claims more cats and dogs than a Guangdong sausage factory. In this case, the intersection of Qingdao's Dayao and Xiaoyao roads was the scene of tragedy. A Pekingese puppy was spry enough to make it through unscathed, but not his friend. A little cleverer than a cat or a bird, the puppy pulled the victim to safety at the side of the road, and administered canine first aid with a frantic tongue bath. It wasn't enough to revive his friend, but enough to convince witnesses that Pekingese dogs have as much guts as their bigger relatives.

Lassie Gone Wrong

If Lassie's master fainted in the street, she would dash to the nearest hospital and manage to summon help. But the dog in question was no collie, just a mutty Schnauser mix with more loyalty than brains. So when the ambulance finally arrived to help its unconscious master, the little pooch had the temerity to start growling at and charging first aid workers, afraid they would do more harm than good. The plucky dog won a ride in the ambulance, and stayed by his human's side all the way to the operating room.

A Week Stand

Qianjin and Guaiguai weren't trapped in rubble after the Wenchuan quake, but their master, sixty-year-old Wang Youqiong, was. Keeping vigil, the dogs licked her mouth and hands, barking loudly whenever they detected someone nearby. When help finally arrived, the dogs had been by her side for 196 hours, a little over eight days.

Tearful Thank You

Sometimes humans find it hard to follow the example set by animals. So we must forgive the owner in Chengdu who left his doggy to die after it was hit by a car. Crippled but not killed, the dog stirred the sympathies of locals, who began feeding it, and eventually named it "Reborn" when it refused to succumb. They say Reborn cries whenever given food, tears of gratitude.