I wish being naïve could last a lifetime

Unfortunately, I have recently discovered something I have feared all along. The dog meat market actually exists. Perhaps it was my upbringing, 10 years in a conservative Catholic school, that led me to believe that people didn't consume dog flesh. Or perhaps I had know the entire time, just forcing the facts out of my brain. I didn't want to believe that somewhere, a poor dog was about to be mercilessly slaughtered to feed a human.

It may be the cultural clash, but I don't feel like America is the only place where dogs are treated as companions. Even in Asian countries, families own and love their pet dogs. However, in these same countries, people abuse, murder, sell and consume their "beloved" pets. Could you even image feeding your pet table scraps of roast dog? The entire idea sickens me to no end.

When preparing for another blog, I searched, "caged dogs" to find a suitable picture for a shelter dog article. However, I didn't find what I had intended. Instead, I was delving deeper into my inner fears with each photograph and web link. Several broke my heart, showing dogs awaiting their unjust murder. I remember making an uncontrollable audible cry when I saw this photo.

Now, I understand that this image is shocking, appalling and downright sickening. I hate to see it, but its been permanently burned into my mind, reappearing when my mind wanders to the cruelties of this world. However, I feel like this image finally verified this horrible outrage in my life. I now have a much stronger appreciation for the animals in my life and a drive to stomp out this horrible treatment.

The treatment of these animals prior to slaughter is more despicable than can be imagined. Most are crammed into tiny cages or forced to share larger cages with multiple other dogs. They are also not provided proper food, water or any other necessity for that matter. Sadly, Koreans believe that dogs who die painfully will release more adrenaline into their flesh, creating a more potent and flavorful meat. This results in tortured and unbelievable cruel methods of slaughter. I believe that if the market cannot be destroyed, the dogs have a right to proper treatment and a painless death. The least one could do for an animal destined for death is to have the compassion to treat it with dignity and respect until its final moments. I find it absolutely disturbing that a human being could even do the things the butchers do to a live, helpless animal. The screams and struggles would haunt me my entire life and probably drive me into madness. However, this doesn't seem to affect the market supplies.

For a more detailed description of a dog meat market, consider this passage, describing the Xi Chang Market (Xi Chang, China) in December of 1997, taken from a Modern China website.

At the front there are puppies and kittens for sale as pets and further back are about 100 dogs waiting to be selected by customers. When selected the vendor puts the dog in a sack and weighs it. After a price is agreed the purchaser kills his dog and butchers it (sometimes in that order, more often in the reverse order). Business was brisk with a dog being killed about ever 5 minutes. There seemed to be two techniques. The one man technique was to hit the dog twice on the head with a wooden plank which dazed it sufficiently to make it safe for him to plunge his knife into its jugular without getting bitten. He then held the dog up by the tail until it bled into unconsciousness - he would then proceed to butcher it with the dog coming in and out of consciousness. With the two man technique, one man held the dog up by her tail while the other pulled the neck back with a wire round the dog's neck. The first man was then able to reach down, again without fear of being bitten, to sever the jugular vein. Since the dog was in no way stunned, she struggled and howled and urinated until passing out. The watching dogs were also shaking and howling. The dog was flung onto her back and the butchering began - consciousness returned on lying flat but she was too weak then to struggle much. One of the men laid down his knife and put his mouth to the inside of the dog's hind leg.

Now while reading this, I cannot deny that my eyes welled with tears for the poor animals. No animal deserves to be treated this way. Ever. Period. I hope that by reading this entry, you will consider how lucky our animals in our homes are and also help to put a stop to these barbaric customs. There are many petitions to sign or donations to be made to stop this abominable treatment of innocent, helpless animals.