Vietnam's complicated relationship with dogs

Vietnam’s relationship with its dogs is a complicated one - and tied up with the country’s rapid economic development over the past two decades. You’ve probably already heard that Vietnamese eat dog meat. They've done so for a very long time. Stumble into the wrong market, and you’ll likely find caged canines that will end up on the dinner table. Even more confronting for the uninitiated, are the skinned dogs hanging from meat hooks. Not everybody here eats dog meat. It’s a practice concentrated in the north of the country (dog meat restaurants are scattered everywhere). Dog is eaten on special occasions in a tradition tied to the lunar calendar and it’s associated both with good fortune, and like many other eating rituals in this region, male virility. Unsurprisingly then, consumers are mostly men. If young people I speak with are any indication, the popularity of dog meat is waning. The Vietnamese proclivity for skewering dogs doesn’t preclude them from adoring them as pets. And as affluence increases, the keeping of pet dogs is on the rise. Expensive dogs are status symbols. Nasty dogs seem to be enjoying popularity as pets too - especially in Hanoi. And pets don't get eaten - unless they fall into the wrong hands. As pet dogs have become more common, a new criminal enterprise has emerged that’s getting lots of coverage in local media and in expat networks - dog theft. Some dogs are stolen for resale. Others are stolen for food. Others are dognapped for a ransom payment. The problem is out of control - I know three friends, foreign and Vietnamese, who’ve been hit by dog thieves. And with ransom payments sometimes reaching $1000, dog theft can be a lucrative business. But it’s dangerous too. Dog thieves are loathed and several have been murdered by mobs after being caught. The woman and dog in the shot were captured racing through Hanoi's old quarter.