On January 27, when the reporter met Hayilati Halderbek, he first showed the reporter a small purple-red notebook. On the cover of the notebook was a national emblem, and below the emblem were several golden characters printed: Farmer Professional Cooperative “Legal Business License” (copy), which indicated that his previously applied “Haina Kazakh Shepherd Dog Farmer Breeding Professional Cooperative” was approved by the industrial and commercial department. This is the first Kazakh shepherd dog farmer breeding professional cooperative in Fukang County.

The 30-year-old Kazakh youth Hayilati, who grew up in the pastoral area and lived with shepherd dogs day and night since childhood, has a deep affection for Kazakh shepherd dogs. He has worked hard for a long time to establish this breeding professional cooperative and is now very happy to have fulfilled his wish.
Kazakh shepherd dogs are one of China's ancient primitive herding dogs, with especially strong adaptability to environment and climate. They are quiet, brave, very alert to strangers, and possess an innate instinct to protect livestock. The Kazakhs regard them as one of their seven great wealths.

Kazakh shepherd dogs give birth to puppies each winter around November. At that time, the mountain temperature is around minus 30 degrees Celsius. The puppies are born outdoors in the freezing snow and ice, usually seven or eight puppies per litter, but only one or two survive. Herdsmen select the strongest puppies to raise indoors. When the puppies are two months old, the owners take them outside to endure wind and severe cold. At three months, the shepherd dog can guard the home or follow the owner to herd livestock. They are the most capable assistants for herders in winter and summer pastures.
Kazakh shepherd dogs have always protected Kazakh herders and their property in pastoral areas. Herders usually do not buy or sell these dogs but pass them on by gifting or exchanging, which is the “dog circulation.” With the development of the times and insufficient protection, purebred Kazakh shepherd dogs have become increasingly rare and urgently need to be discovered, purified, and protected.
Putting everything into protecting shepherd dogs
Hayilati drove the reporter to a dog farm more than three kilometers from the county seat, where the dogs were enjoying the winter sunshine. Sensing the owner's breath and the stranger's scent, they barked happily and wildly. There are 31 Kazakh shepherd dogs here; the large dogs are tied up, and the half-grown shepherd dogs frolic happily when they see their owner. Hayilati walked over, lovingly picked up a 12-day-old puppy for us to see, while the mother dog watchfully stared at us strangers.
Actually, Hayilati goes to the dog farm twice a day every day. Because of limited funds, he only hired one assistant, and many tasks must wait until after he finishes work. Even though it is hard, he is happy because this way, he can communicate with the dogs while feeding them, bringing care and comfort.
After demobilizing from the army, Hayilati worked as a coach at a driving school in Fukang County Town.
In life, he discovered that the number of Kazakh shepherd dogs was rapidly decreasing, and the breed was degenerating. In 2009, he conceived the idea of protecting and rescuing Kazakh shepherd dogs.
Whenever he had free time, he visited pastoral areas to collect information about purebred Kazakh shepherd dogs. Over several years, he traveled all five townships, one farm, and one town in Fukang County, as well as six surrounding counties and one city, leaving his footprints in search of Kazakh shepherd dogs. His idea was: by doing good breeding now, the next generation of the Kazakh shepherd dog breed can be protected.
However, he had neither funds nor space. Fortunately, the driving school principal loved dogs, so Hayilati began raising comparatively purebred Kazakh shepherd puppies obtained through barter from pastoral areas in the school yard.
Daily dog food exceeds 100 kilograms; one vaccine costs 70 yuan, with each dog needing three injections per vaccination; monthly gasoline cost for trips exceeds 3,000 yuan... Hayilati spends nearly 4,000 yuan of his monthly salary entirely on dog raising. He said that over several years, he had invested more than 50,000 yuan in protecting Kazakh shepherd dogs, and his salary has long been insufficient.
Hoping more people join the protection team
Now that the cooperative has been approved, Hayilati hopes more people will join the action to protect Kazakh shepherd dogs, preserving, optimizing, and breeding purebred shepherd dogs.
Hayilati said Kazakh shepherd dogs are not suitable for being tied up; placing them in herders’ homes for free range keeps their nature from degenerating. In the future, the cooperative will establish files for each shepherd dog, conduct regular visits, uniformly carry out purebred feeding, epidemic prevention and control, and breeding reproduction to allow this breed to develop orderly.
It is reported that currently, Qinghe County and Habahe County in the Altay region have successively established Kazakh shepherd dog breed preservation and breeding bases. Jialin Jumahan, deputy town mayor in charge of animal husbandry in Fukang town, said: "Currently, relying on individual efforts alone to protect Kazakh shepherd dogs is obviously insufficient; government policy support and project funding subsidies are needed to promote Kazakh shepherd dog protection work. We will work toward this direction.