Eating Dogs

Eating Dogs is an urban myth about an old couple who bring their pet poodle to a Chinese restaurant. Do Chinese people eat dogs? Read on and find out.

There was an old couple in England who had a pet poodle. They loved their dog very much and treated it almost like it was a human. Some would even say they pampered it too much. Whenever they took a bath, the poodle was given a bath too. Whenever they cooked dinner, they would fix an extra plate and leave it on the floor for the dog to eat.

One day, they were taking their pet poodle for a walk when they happened to pass by a Chinese restaurant. Feeling hungry, they decided to go inside and have dinner. However, when they sat down at a table and the waiter brought over the menus, they realized that he didn’t speak any English.

They attempted to order their dinner by pointing at the items they wanted on the menu. The couple also wanted to order a meal for their dog. When they tried to explain this to the waiter, he smiled and nodded politely but didn’t seem to understand.

They tried to use sign language, pointing to their mouths, rubbling their stomachs and pointing to the dog. The waiter seemed to get the idea and he led the poodle into the kitchen as the old couple waited for their meal to arrive.

Fifteen minutes later, the waiter returned, carrying a large silver platter. When he placed it in the middle of the table and removed the lid, the old couple screamed in horror. There, served on a bed of rice and bamboo shoots, was their beloved poodle. It had been cooked and garnished with full trimmings.

There was another story from England about a local greyhound track. They said that the greyhound owners would sometimes dispose of dogs who were no longer fit enough to race by selling them to the local Chinese restaurant. According to the story, a woman who was eating at the restaurant accidentally choked on a greyhound identification tag.

In yet another story, a Mexican family bought cheap meat from the butcher shop down the street. After they cooked the meat, they found that it was very tough and tasteless. Then, the family noticed that their pet dog was nowhere to be found. It turned out that the butcher was kidnapping people’s pets, butchering them and selling the meat to customers.

Of course, these are all urban myths. Despite the rumors, Chinese restaurants have never served dog meat. One Chinese restaurant owner said, “Some people might think it is funny but it is really offensive to us and it is devastating to our business. The idea that Chinese restaurants sell dog meat is absolute rubbish and it is racist.”

However, in China, dog meat is traditionally eaten by quite a few people. It has become much less common in recent years. There are a few other Asian countries where dog meat and dog soup is sometimes eaten, such as South Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam.

You may not believe this, but when US President Barack Obama was a child, living in Indonesia, he ate a dog. He even wrote about it in his autobiography and described dog meat as being tough. Now that is a true story.