Well, I finally did it. People have been asking me for quite a while now if I have eaten dog while in China, so now I can finally say that I have. It wasn't quite on purpose, but yes, it finally happened. What I mean by "not on purpose," is that I really had no intention of eating dog or even letting the whole situation go this far. It all started as what I thought was a pissing contest between me and another man. He kept asking if I was adventurous and if I wanted to try it. I really didn't think he was serious. I said "sure, I'll try anything," hoping every time he asked for affirmation that he would eventually start laughing and say he was just kidding. Anyway, we got all the way to the restaurant where I finally saw the dog hanging on display (pictured below) when I realized this was not a pissing contest. By then, well, it was a little too late to back down. The worst thing about the whole experience was that it tasted familiar! So, although this was the first time I knowingly ate dog, I think I have had it before. I'm not exactly sure where, hopefully it wasn't in the states. This isn't the first "exotic" animal I've eaten since I've been here though; I've had donkey, camel, pigeon, horse, and various other creepy crawlies as well, just to name a few. Here are some pictures in case you're interested. I want to take a moment to apologize to all the dogs in my life, both living and deceased, and to my dog-loving friends out there.

I took this picture so you can see where this took place in case you'd like to come try for yourself. It is in Shenzhen, in Southern China, in Futian District right across the street from the Royalty Hotel. This is when I first realized I was in trouble. At first I saw a hoof on another animal and thought this was all a joke; then I clearly saw this paw and... well, you can imagine how I felt. I saw this one as I was walking out; just a total affirmation of what happened, so there is no denying it. The final product.