BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- About 20 dogs were adopted from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau dog pound on Monday, Beijing's first dog-adoption day.

    More than 40 dogs have found a home with one or other of the 200-odd potential adopters who had phoned in, said Huang Zhimin, director of the dog-raising administration department of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

    The number of dog adopters shot up when we adopted a "one-stop service" to simplify the dog adoption process, Huang said.

    Over 40 immunized dogs who had passed health checkups were waiting to be loved when the first adopter of the day, Ms. Shan, walked into the dog room.

    She stopped in front of a yellow dog with a black nose and ears who wagged his tail as soon as he saw her.

    "I've been dreaming of finding a quiet, gentle doggy to live with my mother and I knew immediately it must be him," Shan smiled with the lucky dog in her arms.

    The dog pound will be open to citizens every Tuesday and Friday and anyone who wants to adopt a dog will be educated in the skills of raising dogs and living harmoniously with neighbors, Huang said.

    The department has about 600 stray or confiscated dogs but only healthy ones less than 35 cm tall can be adopted and registered in community police offices, Huang said.

    According to the Bureau, dog adoptions began in Beijing in 2003.

    As of Dec. 8, all the 550,323 registered dogs in Beijing had been immunized, according to statistics from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture. Beijing also has a large population of unregistered dogs.