While Americans are at home treating their dogs as part of the family, in some portions of the world, dogs are caged, beat, killed and cooked. Are they made to be both pets and menus?

In some countries like Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam, dog meat eating is common. Opposite to what is happening in the western. They are being pampered and even trained. History tells that eating of dog meat was most common in Korea. The older generation ate dog meat due to different reasons: improving virility, cure for summer heat, cure for some illness, and recovery aid after an illness and improving good skin for women.

According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, therapeutic claims about eating dog meat are all folklore and it has really no truth. Until now, there are no scientific evidences which prove all of these. If the reason of those who eat dog meat is achieving the mentioned reasons by the Koreans, the IFAW discourages them to continue that belief.

In the past, restaurants fabricated stories stating the benefits derived from eating dog meat. These caused people to believe such hearsay and it went on even until the modern days.

There are different means of killing a dog and many critics find it as an act beyond being humane. Some are caught, caged, hung, and boiled. Some are even beaten so hard that too much pain is being inflicted to the animal. However it is not realized by many that food dogs are not pets and they have no names. They are bred in farms, just like pigs, beefs, lambs, chicken and other animals. They are probably bred in cages, which may be cruel but is common in farms anywhere in the world. They are put down "humanely" just like any other animal used for food, usually by slitting the throat and bleeding the animal until it passes out.

The emotional pinch upon hearing dogs being butchered is because people have been domesticating it and they have been receiving the mans best friend treatment. Though they are just animals, dogs are known to be sensitive. Which animal wags its tail as you call its name? Which will look guilty when you scold it? Only dogs, dont they?

For those who are open-minded, they think dog eating is a part of advanced culture. They believe nothing is wrong with it.

Professor An Yong Kun has studied dog meat's nutritional aspects and is its greatest booster. He has developed processed dog meat products and even dog meat oil-based cosmetics. He says he regrets that dog meat is so expensive he can't eat it everyday. Dr. Dog Meat is furious at foreigners who complain about eating dogs in Korea, where dogs are livestock, not pets. He says the French ate dog through the 1800s, and the U.S. even today kills up to 3,000 dogs a year to use in puppy food.

An has developed dog-based kimchi, soy sauce and he is developing a Website "Globalization of Dog Meat," in four languages. An met foreign reporter in Seoul on May 25 to announce his new dog meat products. He called on Koreans not to be embarrassed over eating dog meat, and said he will lobby for formal legalization of dog meat.

There are really different sides of this issue. Questions rise but they remain unanswered. The point is culture around d the world is really of variety. Respecting each other pays.