Michael A. Turton
My
son roughhouses with the dogs.
| Keeping a Pet in Taiwan | |
 The
kids play with our dog, Odie, at our first house in Taichung. |
Pets are very easy to keep in Taiwan. There are pet stores and vets located on every corner, and all the major volume retailers and grocery stores carry pet supplies. We have a dog and two cats. |
 Taiwan
has some really great dogs. This one was so cute, he almost made me a
dognapper. |
Be aware that if you get a dog from a vet or pet store or other formal entity, the animal will have a chip implanted in it with your ID number. If it is later found loose by Animal Patrol, they will run scanner over it and you will be fined. Cats do not have chip implants. |
A
large sheepdog we rescued after it was abandoned by its owner.Beautiful
animals are frequently dumped by the Taiwanese when they are unwanted,
and you can simply take animals you want right off the street. |
There is no rabies on Taiwan in areas where there are people, and animals on the street will be totally clean of it. Shots are strongly recommended, however, to keep Taiwan that way! |
 Taiwanese
are great bird lovers and bird shops are found everywhere. |
Your major problem in keeping pets will be the
locals.
Although there are plenty of locals who care for pets, many Taiwanese
dislike
animals and actively abuse and torture them. |
| In both the houses in which we live locals have persistently tortured and attempted to murder our dogs. Our next-door neighbor used to cut up and sharpen chicken bones and dump them under our fence; fortunately our dog is so big he simply gobbled them up without harm. | 
A
pet owner delighted that I have taken a picture of her and her rabbits. |
| Once another neighbor prevented a passer-by from stoning our dog to death. In our house here in Tanzi, from time to time we find boards with large nails and other things indicating that someone is trying to hurt/kill our animal. I have on two occasions prevented someone who parked in front of our house from beating our dog for barking at him. |  Our cat. |
| In June of 2005 someone
burned our dog with lye or battery acid. It takes a seriously sick mind
to burn something as friendly and loving as a Golden Retriever. |
 Bola recovering after being burned. |
Taiwanese generally fear dogs, and a large dog is a surefire preventive against break-ins. Thieves usually attempt to poison the animals before they break into a house. |
One of our dogs worries a crab it has found in the yard. |
| Be sure to keep your dog
away
from other people!! No matter what the circumstances, no matter
how
brutally it was tortured, if it bites somebody, you will be liable
under
customary usage, an important reason many people do not keep dogs. No
matter
how docile your animal is, warn your neighbors that it is
short-tempered
and bites. This will keep them away from it.
|
Hey,
I wanna read too! |
| Despite what you may hear, Taiwanese do eat dogs and there are dog meat restaurants in rural areas, although they are illegal and do not advertise. |  A stray dog contemplates art on a college campus. Strays are everywhere and yours for the taking. |
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