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I can see it now.
The sequel to “Dreams of my father”...
of course will be “Recipes of my father”.
Bo-be-que...
In Việt Nam until the turn of this century the dog has had no use to humans other than as food. Hunting in the rainforest is not enhanced by dogs and as protection in a very poor society the dog is just too expensive. Feeding a dog means less food for the humans. In the villages the water buffalo serves many of the protective functions that the dog provides to Americans and works productively. Dogs are no protection against tigers. Con trâu (water buffalo) kill tigers that attack them and go after tigers that come into the village fields.
Keeping pets larger than crickets is a luxury of a rich society. Again, feeding that dog means your children will have less to eat.
Given all that, things are changing in Việt Nam re dogs. Thịt cho(dog meat) has fallen out of fashion throughout most of the country and is indulged in by a few old folks, mostly in the north. The biggest reason is that Americans are horrified at the idea of canine recipes and Vietnamese idolize America and Americans. And Việt Nam is becoming a richer country and people actually have their own yards that are not common to the village. People have possessions to protect now. In 2003 yard dogs were few and emaciated. Dog was still on the menu in some city restaurants. Culinary dogs were/are fed only rice and their meat is in the same class of flavor and consistency as the creatures we Americans are more used to eating.
In 2007 there were far more yard dogs and they appeared healthier. All dogs were still fed only rice because chickens had the run of the village and any dog that showed an interest was dealt with by whoever observed that interest.
In 2011 I saw dogs as pets in some households and the towns had made rules that chickens had to be penned so everywhere yards have large chickenwire enclosures to keep the birds (which look plumper and have more feathers). Dogs are now fed table scraps that include meat. People are rich enough that there are table scraps and many families can keep dogs as pets.