Also known as Isaan Steak

Folks who lived in Sakon Nakhon a decade ago will remember the days of the dog collector.  The trucks would drive around town and offer colorful plastic bowls or buckets as a trade for a dog.    The trucks would also prowl around at night to apprehend dogs running loose.  You could always tell when such a truck was in the neighborhood.  Dogs apparently sensed what was happening and went into hiding.  I appreciated the silence and could get a decent night's sleep.    When the dog traders disappeared ten years ago, many dogs in my neighborhood were poisoned.      Outlawing the dog trade in Thailand will not solve the problem as long as people in surrounding nations can still legally consume dogs and don't mind paying high prices.  As of the moment there are around a dozen countries where consumption of dogs is legal.    The problem is that there are no animal control laws.  Dogs are allowed to run free and prowl the streets and countrysides and reproduce in uncontrolled numbers.  Many dogs are maimed or killed daily in traffic and are the cause of many vehicle accidents, injuries and deaths.  I was injured in a motorcycle accident  caused by a dog chasing me many years ago.    In recent years there have been a number of high profile apprehensions of mostly traders dealing in large numbers of animals.  It has not stopped the practice of eating dogs.  It has simply driven the practice into secrecy.   Large numbers of these rescued dogs died of malnutrition and disease.  I have seen locals capture birds, the size of a golf ball once they had been plucked and then used to feed families.  I've seen plenty of pictures of rats barbequed and for sale.  No uproar here. The forces against the dog trading have one powerful image, pictures and videos of mistreatment of these animals.  A few dogs are lucky enough to be adopted and moved to other countries.  Yet many of these same folk consider ducks, rabbits, snails and a whole list of other animals are ok to eat.    In recent weeks the nightly noises of prowling dogs were extreme for over a week.  Then all of a sudden there was silence.  Since there are no dog catchers, it makes me wonder how they all disappeared overnight.   I have never eaten dog or cat. I have no interest in doing so, I wasn't brought up that way.   At the same time I do not condemn people who do.  After all I can afford a t-bone steak now and then, many of these people can't. I know its a very sensitive subject.  Please keep any comments appropriate