How much is that doggie in the window?

The economics of dog breeding

While paying for vegetables, I learnt something.
Shop owner: What job do you do?
Young man: I don’t have a job. Whoever prospered by having a job?
Shopowner: Speculative look. (He himself runs the vegetable shop, he doesn’t have a “regular” job!)
Young man: I breed dogs and sell them. All kinds of breeds. I get Rs.20K per dog sometimes.
Me (unable to stop myself): Which breed?
Young man: Rajapalayam hounds.
Me: Oh!
Young man: But that includes Rs.8K for the licence, and another few thousands for the microchip (inserted in the dog’s collar).
The economics of the pet trade was a subject that I had never thought about…today’s learning!
And by the way…veg prices have not come down after the festival. The kind of prices that used to astonish me in Mumbai or Delhi now rule here..

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About Deepa Mohan 767 Articles
Deepa Mohan is a freelance writer and avid naturalist.