You can safely read up to the divider line but read my warning before you dare scroll down past that.
WARNING – Not for the faint of heart. You probably don't want to read this. In fact, don't read this. This is pretty off topic and I will delete this post after a few days but just to put into perspective the captive birds in Vietnam topic I wanted to mention a bit about how dogs are treated in Vietnam.
Before I reach the off limits section I wanted to mention a curious thing that will probably amaze the dog owners on here. While a full grown dog my fetch a $50 price tag, puppies often go for no more than $10-$20 USD. You're probably shocked how cheap they are compared to the price of them in the rest of the world. I explain why this is the case but you probably DO NOT want to know. So this is the end of the rated G section. Don't venture past here if you are not ready to be shocked.
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Scroll down if you really do want to read this.
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Dogs are really cheap in Vietnam, naturally as a food commodity they'd have to be. Although a delicacy, a nice medium sized dog runs about $50 bucks. You get a nice sized dog at the market and walk it over to the restaurant and for about $20 more they will prepare the whole dog for you and your guests. On the other hand puppies are much cheaper costing between $10-$20 because they haven't been fattened up yet for eating. But if you have a pet dog and it has a litter of pups, there are guys who go around and buy them up, feed them, and then sell them on the market or to restaurants.
There are no dogs for sale now because it's the 2nd day of the lunar month. They normally eat them at the end of the lunar month so they already ate all available dogs. They think it is good luck to eat dog at the end of the lunar month but bad luck to eat in the beginning. Thus I did not get to see any dogs for sale at the market today, however, I was assured that they were quite enjoyed during the previous lunar feast.
The medium sized dogs are most highly favored, though they'll eat just about anything that barks. The large dogs are not as tender but the little ones are more bark than meat. Thus the medium sized (typically tan in color) dogs are the most highly prized for a nice home cooked family meal.
The men like to eat chicken and pig feet with a drink of rice wine to demonstrate their manliness. As for dog, all of the dog gets eaten and once again the feet are a delicacy reserved for the manliest of men. They will nibble on a dog leg not unlike chewing a Kentucky Fried Chicken leg drum right off the bone. They have many different sauces and methods of preparation depending on which section of the dog is being prepared. Vietnamese people in Hanoi really enjoy this fine delicacy and relish its flavor in their explanations of eating it.
I'm sure Vietnamese people have heard of the world famous New York hot dogs. But they must be so disappointed to learn that while they may be hot, there's little or no dog in them.
Unlike Americans, Vietnamese like their food to be very much alive (or as close to it) when they cook it.