MOTORBIKE OF MERRY MUTTS CHALLENGES VIETNAM’S DOGMEAT CULTURE

To me, the dog is like a friend, a true friend. If I could, I would give care to all the abandoned and abused dogs

Nguyen Thi Kim Quy Retired hairdresser/animal activist

HANOI—Retired hairdresser Nguyen Thi Kim Quy is an anomaly as she navigates Hanoi’s bustling streets in a pimped-out motorbike tuk-tuk, 13 multicolored rescue dogs in tiny Christmas outfits yapping away happily inside.

An estimated 5 million canines are consumed every year across Vietnam, where dogmeat is considered a delicacy, but the Southeast Asian nation is trying to phase out consumption that is second only to China.

Quy, 71, has devoted her retirement to rescuing homeless pooches so they don’t wind up on dinner plates—or beaten— and spends much of her monthly stipend from her relatives on the cause.

“It would be disastrous if they would be sent to the slaughterhouse. I really couldn’t bear it,” she told AFP.

“Eating dog or cat meat, for me, is a crime.”

She says the culture is changing slowly and more Vietnamese are adopting dogs as pets and companions.

“I think Hanoi residents have become friendlier to pets, turning away from their habit of considering dogmeat a delicacy,” she said.

Santa costumes

Quy wakes up early to take the dogs for a morning walk and is sometimes still combing the streets befriending strays as night falls.

Quy dyes the dogs’ fur and dresses some up in Santa and reindeer costumes for festive cheer as the temperature drops over the winter months.

Her motorbike of mutts has become a popular sight on Hanoi’s streets, with many commuters stopping to pose for social media photos.

“They have very bright smiles and sometimes they even give gifts to the dogs .... they love these dogs very much,” Quy said.

She believes pets “bring peace, sweep away sadness and hardship.”

“To me, the dog is like a friend, a true friend,” Quy said.

“If I could, I would give care to all the abandoned and abused dogs.”

—PHOTOS BY AFP —AFP ROADSHOW Nguyen Thi Kim Quy rides around Hanoi carrying rescued dogs in Santa costumes to promote the canines as pets and not food.

A MERRY SEASON Nguyen Thi Kim Quy dresses up one of her dogs in a Santa costume before they head out to spread good cheer to Hanoi residents.

ANIMAL RESCUE The retired hairdresser picks up homeless pooches so they don’t wind up on dinner plates like millions of other canines in Vietnam.

ORPHANS NO MORE The dog rescuer, who has devoted her retirement to saving canines from slaughter, cleans up dog cages at her home in the Vietnamese capital.