While I have not eaten dog meat myself, I do not consider it wrong to do so, provided of course that the dog meat was legally obtained, and the dog had been killed quickly, humanely, and was free of disease.

Pigs have been documented as being as intelligent as dogs, and yet they are consumed in many ways, such as pork, ham, bacon, even young piglets are eaten on a regular basis. Although the people of a few religions do condemn the eating of pig meat, on the whole, most do not. As such the argument that we should not eat dogs because they are smart is not a valid one.

Just because dogs are currently kept as companions does not mean this was always the case. When dogs were first domesticated they served a variety of purposes. One purpose was as a hunting companion, another purpose was for protection, they were used as pack animals, and when resources were scarce, they were eaten.  Some people keep chickens as pets, some people eat them.

In some countries dogs are eaten as commonly as beef is eaten in others. Dog meat is easier to come by than beef is. Some people theorize that with human population problems forcing farmers to grow food for people, rather than for cattle, other cultures will start to accept dog as an alternative meat source. In the future beef will be expensive and harder to come by.

Right now millions of dogs are killed every year in the USA alone. More people are letting their dogs breed, than there are homes for. These dogs bodies are often put into mass cremations, or taken to special areas of the garbage dump used for dead animals. Only a few go to labs/veterinary schools for education purposes. Some countries, or areas, have very cruel, and inhumane methods of dealing with canine overpopulation.

Imagine if we were to eat those dogs rather than waste their meat?

Eating dog meat is expectedly a very hard thing for people to even consider. First, we would not be able to euthanize them the same way we currently do. They would have to be slaughtered in the same manner we slaughter pigs. We would also have to have ways to ensure the animals used were not somebodies wanted pet. Most shelters already do this by allowing owners sufficient time to claim their lost pet. Obviously anyones pet euthanized at the veterinarian would not be fit for human consumption.

From a cruelty aspect, eating dog meat would ultimately result in fewer deaths. If more people ate dog, fewer pigs (and other animals) would need to be killed to feed us all. The dogs are being killed now anyhow, why not work ways to make it acceptable to eat them rather than waste them?

Granted nobody would want to eat their pet, or have their pet but at risk of being eaten. Very simply they might take better care of their pet to make sure it would not end up in a facility where it might risk being slaughtered.

Is there a difference?

Again I will refer back to pigs. Many people keep pigs as pets, in fact, some pigs are trained to preform the same tasks as a service dog. Pigs are smart, but we eat them. Pigs make great pets, but we eat them. Pigs are loyal and can be playful, they can also be dinner. Why are dogs given a different status to pigs? Is it because dogs are cuter?

Is it inhuman to eat a cute animal? No, we eat lambs and calves. They are cute. They want to live just as much as any other animal. We want to live to, and for most of us that means eating meat.

We are lucky

Humans are lucky because we are at the top of the food chain, not only do we often get to decide what to eat, but how much. Many other animals do not have that luxury. In some countries the people do not have that luxury either. Food is costly, or hard to find.

We are lucky because most of us do not have to kill the food we eat. I know I could not kill any of my pet hens and eat them, they have earned my trust. I do eat other meat though, meat killed by somebody else. I consider myself lucky because if I do not want to eat dog, I simply would not buy it if it were available. I do not feel I have any right to condemn another person for eating dog. It is not inhuman to eat something when you need to eat to survive.