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deadlift
Joined: 08 Jun 2010
Posts: 267
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 Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 2:24 am Post subject: |
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I've heard that too, snolly (may I call you snolly?).
My girlfriend's family think that I'm totally mad for naming my motorbike. She told me that they don't even name their pets, by and large. I asked, "so what do they call the dog?". The answer: "the dog'. However some of the younger generation I know do name their pets.
As much as some Vietnamese love their pets, they don't think of them as small, differently-shaped people, as many westerners do.
For what it's worth, I love dogs and believe they need a yard, which is why I choose not to keep a dog in Vietnam/Korea/Japan/wherever. |
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CThomas
Joined: 21 Oct 2009
Posts: 380
Location: HCMC, Vietnam
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| Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 2:35 am Post subject: Re: Nameless dinner |
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| snollygoster wrote: |
We dont eat anything that has a name? Easy- do as most Viets do with animals- dont give them names. They are just "That horse-that dog etc" They usually (well most I have met anyway), find it most amusing that westerners would give an animal a name.
When confronted with the question "A dog is mans friend, would you eat your friend?" the most common answer is something like "no its not my friend, its a dog". We dont usually give chickens a name, and we eat them. (However, I cant imagine a chicken being a loyal pet). |
Do I live in a weird neighborhood? I mean, there are a lot of pets (owned by Vietnamese) around here -- a lot of dogs -- presumably with names. I swear like 1 in 4 or even 1 in 3 homes has a dog as a pet around her.
There's a video out -- by lonely planet I think -- where they ask a young Vietnamese woman this same question, Snollygoster, and she says "Yes, we love dogs: they're our friends and they are delicious."
To change the common descriptor (moniker?) Dog: Man's best delicious friend.
I was talking to a Viet man I know who is about to go to (move to?) the US and asked something like this: "Purely hypothetically, you know, as I don't eat them, but is it illegal to eat dogs in the US?" My reply was not only would one be thrown in jail but one may very well get beat up or even killed by the townspeople. So, now, if we're eating something fairly exotic, like wild pig or frog, he earnestly asks if doing so in the US would prompt a similar response. He's pretty concerned about it.
Such a weird conversation we're having in this thread. |
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deadlift
Joined: 08 Jun 2010
Posts: 267
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| Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 3:02 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I mean, there are a lot of pets (owned by Vietnamese) around here -- a lot of dogs -- presumably with names. I swear like 1 in 4 or even 1 in 3 homes has a dog as a pet around her. |
I live in a hem with three or four very happy and clearly well-cared for dogs. They are pets in every sense of the word, but I know for a fact that two of them don't have names. Of course I can't speak for your neighbourhood wolf-pack, but I would not assume that they are named.
I have also heard, second or third hand, of a dog being killed by a motorbike, by accident. The owner was upset, as you'd expect, yet took the dog home for dinner. I mean, why waste perfectly good protein for the sake of sentiment? |
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CThomas
Joined: 21 Oct 2009
Posts: 380
Location: HCMC, Vietnam
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| Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 3:31 am Post subject: |
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| deadlift wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I mean, there are a lot of pets (owned by Vietnamese) around here -- a lot of dogs -- presumably with names. I swear like 1 in 4 or even 1 in 3 homes has a dog as a pet around her. |
I live in a hem with three or four very happy and clearly well-cared for dogs. They are pets in every sense of the word, but I know for a fact that two of them don't have names. Of course I can't speak for your neighbourhood wolf-pack, but I would not assume that they are named.
I have also heard, second or third hand, of a dog being killed by a motorbike, by accident. The owner was upset, as you'd expect, yet took the dog home for dinner. I mean, why waste perfectly good protein for the sake of sentiment? |
I'm going to ask around about whether these animals have names.
Intelligence summary: a fraction of people name dogs, but when they do, they're usually the foofie dogs names "mi mi" or "na na." I haven't found any named the equivalent of "Thor" etc. So if this is the case in a dog-heavy neighborhood, then it's probably generally true.
Last edited by CThomas on Sat Sep 25, 2010 7:34 am; edited 1 time in total |
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BrentBlack
Joined: 11 Apr 2010
Posts: 96
Location: Quan 3, Saigon
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| Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 3:52 am Post subject: |
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| I'll eat a dog right now! |
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anubistaima
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 110
Location: Thailand
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| Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 8:46 am Post subject: Re: with reference to the original poster |
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| mark_in_saigon wrote: |
| It is my opinion that one should never force another living creature to live in this environment. If you want to come here and take your chances, fine, but to drag someone else along who has no say in the matter, I think it is not fair to that creature. This is one difficult environment. Maybe you love it, fine, but I would never ask anyone else to come here unless he/she/it was very aware of the environment, and accepted the risks. As animals cannot speak to you, that would pretty much take them off the list of who I would bring over. I think if the creature is born here, then it is kinda different, they are already stuck with it, maybe you can help him/her/it, but if the creature is born in the west, I would not subject him/her/it to this without his/her/its agreement. |
I agree with this to a point --Animals shouldn't have to suffer because of our own selfish decisions. However, I don't believe Vietnam is a good place for children either, but if I had children, I would certainly bring them along with me. I ended up in Vietnam for a number of reasons, but it wasn't really my first choice (or second or third). Now, I don't have any family. None. And nobody I know would take better care of my dog than I do, so leaving him behind with strangers would be a very poor choice. Again, I wouldn't leave the kids behind, so why would I leave the dog?
When living in Vietnam, my dog was diagnosed with chronic liver disease. Not only did it cost me a fortune to care for him, but it required giving him medication every 2 hours for weeks at a time. Who else would spend that time and care on a dog they just took in? When I adopted him, I took the responsibility for life. It would be absolutely unfair to get rid of him just because it's not convenient anymore to take him along. By the way, the dog survived, thanks to a great foreign vet, bribes paid to local (human) clinics to use their equipment and medicine shipped from the States. He's now having the time of his life in a house with a big yard in Thailand. I also bought a second dog at a meat market in Sapa and brought him along to Thailand. Once I'm ready to leave Thailand, they're both coming with me.
So for those who have a choice, I would say mark_in_saigon is right. Don't go to Vietnam with pets if you can avoid it. But if for some reason you're stuck and must go there, there's no reason to leave them behind. |
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CThomas
Joined: 21 Oct 2009
Posts: 380
Location: HCMC, Vietnam
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| Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 9:56 am Post subject: Re: with reference to the original poster |
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Or...
Get a big house with a big terrace by a park and live it up. |
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Andy123
Joined: 24 Sep 2009
Posts: 206
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| Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 10:24 am Post subject: |
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The name for many Vietnamese dogs is Kiki (Key-key).
Most Viets have dogs for security. They are not pets. Look around. Drive down the street and see how many people driving recklessly with a c @$@%^? Do you honestly think they will be more caring about a dog?
Culture is defined as the norms and values of a society, and when acted upon fall within the range considered proper and acceptable. Do not judge another culture with your own norms and values.
Xenocentric? |
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snollygoster
Joined: 04 Jun 2009
Posts: 478
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| Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:19 pm Post subject: Eat your pet |
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When in India, I was surprised to learn that a mahout (elephant driver) will eat his elephant when it dies. Its a life long companion, and this is its last chance to do something positive for its human companion.
I wonder if we should expect our pets/companions to dine on us? |
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Oh My God
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 273
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| Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 11:37 pm Post subject: Re: Eat your pet |
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[quote="snollygoster] I wonder if we should expect our pets/companions to dine on us? [/quote]
That's my point of view, eat anything that doesn't eat me first!
BTW - dog is a really good meal. |
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CThomas
Joined: 21 Oct 2009
Posts: 380
Location: HCMC, Vietnam
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| Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:50 am Post subject: |
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| Andy123 wrote: |
The name for many Vietnamese dogs is Kiki (Key-key).
Most Viets have dogs for security. They are not pets. Look around. Drive down the street and see how many people driving recklessly with a c @$@%^? Do you honestly think they will be more caring about a dog?
Culture is defined as the norms and values of a society, and when acted upon fall within the range considered proper and acceptable. Do not judge another culture with your own norms and values.
Xenocentric? |
I wouldn't have realized that dog's riding on motorbikes would be so common, but they are. Of course, so are babies without helmets. |
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