A Dog's Life?
Sweater-vests, pedicures, & Prozac... is this really a dog's life?
By Linda Baker
Matilda the basset hound.
View Slideshow »Chester is a Chinese crested who was severely neglected for the first year of his life, but has since found an awesome loving home.
View Slideshow »A boxer named Bently
View Slideshow »Jessica Burbank and Colin Powell, named by the Portland Humane Society in honor of Black History Month.
View Slideshow »Little Man Rue, part of a book that photographer Carli Davidson is working on to raise money and awareness for handicapped pets.
View Slideshow »Sweet Pea, Little Man Rue’s sister.
View Slideshow »Mayonnaise, a Chinese crested
View Slideshow »Clair Feeley, office manager at Hot Diggity! Dog Walking and Pet Sitting with one of her clients.
View Slideshow »Greta is a corded poodle from Cadbury Standard Poodles here in Portland.
View Slideshow »Teresa Robinson and Marcelle.
View Slideshow »Niko, English bulldog puppy
View Slideshow »T-Bone, French bulldog.
LAST APRIL, I MET A YOUNG, well-educated student from China who told me what a grand time he was having here in Portland, studying engineering, going to Blazers games, and learning such quaint American customs as “going dutch.” The one thing this new city lacked, he told me, was his favorite dish: roast dog. Offering a bit of friendly advice, I suggested he avoid advertising this culinary preference in Portland.
Here, I explained, dogs are revered as pets, a bit like cows in India—not that we are like India, I carefully hedged, or that there is anything wrong with India. Not to worry, he replied: Chairman Mao banned pets as symbols of “bourgeois decadence” in the 1960s, but companion dogs have more recently become all the rage among the country’s newly minted affluent class. Nonetheless, the rising popularity of pets has failed to curb regional appetites for dog meat, which is considered in some parts of the country to be very nutritious—and an aphrodisiac to boot. So last winter, when members of the Chinese government, backed by animal welfare activists, proposed legislation that would allow individual provinces to ban the slaughter of dogs, the nation became embroiled in a debate about whether people can have their pets and eat them too.
The Chinese dilemma of the dog reflects various sea changes occurring in that nation—economic, social, and psychological. But in the United States, attitudes toward dogs are also undergoing a cultural revolution that similarly underscores our own shifting nature. As a stroll past businesses such as Dogs Dig It, the Hip Hound, or LexiDog Boutique & Social Club will reveal, Portland is leading the canine strut.
Published: July 2010
Well – I read this last night. I’m concerned that this article is rather narrow minded. While some points are well researched and I agree with some of the concepts presented, other aspects of the piece I don’t agree with at all. I believe wellness is important and acupuncture has helped heal our doxie who was diagnosed with IVDD years ago… some of the modalities mentioned are important and I wouldn’t categorize as “excessive” at all. Hmmmm – I also see the writer isn’t lucky enough to live with a dog and therefore may not have the same perspective as many of us that have rescued 3+ dogs from terrible circumstances… my .02. Regardless, good questions are raised…. ~Christy