ABOUT US

Two cities, two different kinds of care, the lifestyles of our furry friends——The story of LIKA

If you were to ask me, of all the places, where do I experience puppy happiness the most? My answer would be Stockholm and Shanghai. They are very different but share the same core, from which the story of LIKA originated.

Swedish Puppies: Equality Care with a “Sense of Boundary”

For the past 15 years, I have been traveling between Scandinavia and China due to my work in Global Luxury Management. I always thought that the beneficiaries of the high welfare in the Scandinavian countries were the people, until I met Magnaus, who changed my perception and expectation of the pet lifestyle. Magnaus is a Swede and my business partner who has served two of the most famous Swedish brands - H&M and IKEA - helping with their market expansion and digital innovation. His love and equal care for pets is not inherent but acquired and is closely related to the humanistic core of the Sweden.

Magnaus told me that raising a puppy in Stockholm is just like raising a baby. Sweden is in northern Europe, with lots of mountains and snow, and people are either at home or on their way to nature, and the dogs learn to get in touch with nature at an early age, just like any other family member.

• In Stockholm, the rights of dogs are taken seriously. The law requires dogs not to be left alone in a confined space for more than six hours, and if dog owners don't walk their dogs in a timely manner, they face penalties for mistreating their dogs, and if they don't have time to walk their dogs then they need to be sent to a special kindergarten for dogs to receive socialization training.
• There are special dog parks in Stockholm where dogs can run free without being tied to a leash and free people from the fear of dog attacks.
• Most shopping malls and stores in Stockholm have special “dog parking zones” in front of them, so that dogs can learn to socialize at an early age, and it also enriches their social life by giving them less time to be bored and wait for their parents.

Shanghai Puppy: Connective Care with a “Sense of Community”

I'm a native Shanghainese, and while I grew up hearing that Shanghai is famous for its history and international trade. In the last couple of years, I've noticed that Shanghai puppies are popping up more and more frequently in various local trends. This time last year, due to my daughter's obsessive love for puppies, we added a new family member, a Yorkshire named Coffee. Because of her arrival, I realized that in Shanghai, puppies have taken on the role of a "neighborhood committee", bringing family relationships, human relationships, and puppy-to-puppy relationships closer together. Unlike Sweden, Shanghai has less land and more people, and more puppies. Puppy families often don't have much living space, which makes the frequency of dog walking and the size of the puppies extremely demanding. In the future, the number of small-sized dogs in Shanghai will be much higher, which is why I founded LIKA at that time, starting with small-sized dog clothing.

• Shanghai is a fast-paced city with a busy workforce of young and middle-aged people. Children and the elderly are often left behind and feel lonely, making puppies the best family members to keep each other company.
• The location where Shanghai puppies appear the most is the cafe, Shanghai people not only love to drink coffee, but also love to take their puppies to the cafe to "social connect". The puppies in the cafes love to interact with the puppies, people passing by love to play with the puppies, and even the parents of the puppies get involved in socializing with the puppies. Everyone is a puppy parent at the moment.
• In the past two years, more and more pet-friendly communities, stores and charity organizations have appeared in Shanghai. Every puppy gets the attention of the public, regardless of breed or appearance. Various community platforms for puppy adoption, puppy water bowls placed on the street, puppy strollers in shopping malls, unpaid dog walking services for college students on the internet ...... Puppy rights and welfare are increasingly being emphasized.

LIKA's Twin Cities DNA

Earlier 2023, Magnaus and I decided to create LIKA out of our love for puppies and the twin cities lifestyle, and the core concept of LIKA combines the twin cities of Stockholm and Shanghai, as well as our desire to improve the welfare of pets and the relationship between people and their pets.