Dog Eat Dog

The Chinese have a long history of eating dog meat. Every year approximately half a million dogs are butchered and eaten in China. I once had a friend from Shanghai who was amazed at how well Americans treat their pets.

He once said "This (america) is the loneliest country in the world..You americans care more about your dogs and cats than you do  each other." He also remarked: "In america you take your dog for a walk. In china, we put dog in the wok!" Never underestimate oriental wit.

My only response was "you got that right." And of course, he did. We americans care much more about our pets than we do our neighbors, and surveys indicate that about ten per cent of all people claim that they prefer dogs to other people.

My chinese friend eventually moved from our small town to Chicago, because he wanted to be around more people, but he was disappointed; even Chicago seemed like a small, and lonely town to him. I haven't heard form him in years.  By now perhaps he has learned how to be lonely and happy, like the rest of us americans.

Things are changing in China. More and more chinese are actually getting dogs as pets, and treating them like a member of the family, in good american fashion. Increasing urbanization, increasing per capita wealth, and changing cultural values are possibly responsible for this.

There is a growing community of "dog's rights"  activists in China, groups of people who assemble for the purpose of liberating dogs from the oven. Trucks filled with dogs in small cramped cages are stopped on the road, and gangs of dog lovers either forcibly liberate the animals, or buy them in order to save them and give them out as pets.

Within the near future dogmeat may be a thing of the past in china. Meanwhile, I hope my friend from Shanghai is doing Ok in Chicago. He's a nice guy. Who knows, by now, he may even have gotten a dog, to alleviate his loneliness the american way. Let's just hope that when he gets the munchies, he has a convenience store or taco bell nearby, or maybe a fast food chinese drive thru...

Please scroll down for the other articles in today's issue of The Truthless rceconciler.Thanks!