The dogs looked like dogs. 
 
 Then, after a lick of paint and a splash of dye, they looked like pandas. So much so that visitors to a travelling circus near the Italian town of Brescia had believed the Chow Chow dogs were a rare example of the Chinese bear. The white dogs, originally shipped from Hungary, were seized from the circus by authorities in Italy after a tip-off. News website The Local reported that the dogs had been put on display, with children posing next to them as their parents paid a fee for the privilege. 
 
 The animals were said to be in good health, albeit with watery eyes, which could have been aggravated, police said, by “continuous exposure to camera flashes”. 
 
 The circus has denied allegations of cruelty and trickery. Its secretary, Riccardo Gravina, said it should have been “obvious they are dogs”. He added: “No animal was mistreated. They are like children to us.” The animals have since been returned, but the circus is no longer permitted to use them in their shows. 
 
 A pair of Chow Chow dogs at a pet market in Beijing (Getty) 
 
 Hsin Ch’en, a pet shop owner in the southwest province of Sichuan claims he started the craze for these decorated dogs in China which sell for considerably more than the average Chow Chow. 
 
 “Ten years ago the natural instinct of a Chinese person was to eat a dog. Now we are like westerners and want one as a companion.” ||||| One of the chow chow dogs seized by police. Photo: Corpo Forestale dello Stato 
 
 Two painted chow chow dogs posing as pandas have been seized from a circus in northern Italy, after tricking children into handing over cash, police have said. 
 
 The male and female dogs were seized by police after it became clear that they were not, in fact, pandas. 
 
 To an unassuming child visiting the circus in Brescia, a small furry animal with white and black stripes may do the trick. 
 
 But The Local readers may notice a distinct difference. Here is a real panda: 
 
 Panda photo by Shutterstock. 
 
 And here are the dogs-in-disguise: 
 
 Cani truccati da panda: blitz della Forestale al circo Orfei http://t.co/BXYTkAS8k0 pic.twitter.com/VaFUaQPewB — Corriere della Sera (@Corriereit) December 22, 2014 
 
 The police were not fooled, who said the dogs were put on display ahead of the circus show. Children posed for photos with the animals, paying a fee for the “panda” privilege. 
 
 The environmental police moved in to seize the animals, which they said were in general good health but had particularly watery eyes. This was “probably aggravated by the continuous exposure to camera flashes”, Italy’s environmental police said in a statement. 
 
 Police moved in on animal cruelty grounds and the circus owner is facing charges over the animals’ false passports. The chow chows were imported from Hungary and were six months younger than documents stated, police said. 
 
 The circus owner could also be caught for cheating his customers out of cash.
– With more paint and a couple of horses, they could have had zebras, too: A pair of chow chow puppies dyed black and white looked enough like pandas to fool visitors to a traveling circus near Milan, officials in Italy say. Forestry officials—who investigate many animal cases in Italy—uncovered the ruse after a tip-off and have charged the owner with having false documents for the dogs, which had been imported from Hungary with false pet passports, the Guardian reports. The circus may also be charged with fraud and cruelty to animals, though the dogs' owners were able to hold on to the animals, so long as the dogs never masquerade as pandas again. Circus-goers had been charged to have their photos taken with the "pandas"; the Local reports one dog was male and one was female. Investigators say that while the dogs were in generally good health, they had watery eyes that could have been caused by continuous exposure to camera flashes. A circus spokesman denies trying to trick the public, telling the Independent it was "obvious they are dogs." "No animal was mistreated," he says. "They are like children to us." (Meanwhile, this year saw a real panda with a fake pregnancy.)