Do you suppose this is for real?

[RebelOne]

http://www.thedogisland.com/index.html

[Tab]

1. No.

Snopes debunks it: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/dogisland.asp

Claim: A sanctuary for dogs is maintained on a "dog island" off the coast of Florida.

Status: False.

Example:


Over 2,500 dogs are already enjoying a better life at Dog Island. Separated from the anxieties of urban life, dogs on Dog Island live a natural, healthy and happy life. They live with almost limitless space, and tens of thousands of rabbits, rodents and other natural prey. Surrounded by thousands of other dogs, this is the only place for them to be truly social and create healthy families. Dogs at Dog Island have another chance.


Origins: Although a spit of land in the eastern-most part of a chain of barrier islands located off the northern panhandle of Florida is known as Dog Island, it is not operated as a sanctuary where canines can live "separated from the anxieties of urban life" as described at the japing thedogisland.com web site. The Dog Island site is a hoax playing on western revulsion of Asian dog-eating practices, and its creators deliberately used names identical to those of persons and companies in China who process dogs for human consumption (for example, the "Dawn Fine Bred Dog Center" of which Dog Island is supposedly a subsidiary, the city of Pexian, and the name "Han Fei" are all references to the Dawn Fine Bred Meat Dog Center, a commercial operation in China where dogs are raised for meat), similar to a stunt once pulled by notorious prankster Joey Skaggs.

(After we wrote this page, the Dog Island site removed some of the references mentioned above. A copy of the original Dog Island company info page can be viewed here.)

The real Dog Island is accessible by ferry from the Florida mainland or by small aircraft, and most of the island is owned by the Nature Conservancy, which works with the Barrier Island Trust to preserve the island in its natural state. Some portions of Dog Island are also privately-owned residential property.

Last updated: 20 March 2003

[RebelOne]

2. Thanks, I forgot to check Snopes.com.

But it sure would be nice if there was a place where dogs could live happily ever after.

[Maru Kitteh]

3. It would also be nice

if they weren't killed and processed for food in China. :cry:

[Dervill Crow]

4. Overprotective mom here.

Looked at the site and had a mild anxiety attack. I never sent my kids to camp, and I couldn't send my dog off somewhere even if this was for real.

My little girl Amstaff seems perfectly happy in the suburbs, thanks.

As a sidenote: When my cute little Vietnamese hairdresser got engaged and told me about her boyfriend, she made the comment that he has a dog and she found that very unusual because she had never been to anyone's house before where they kept a dog as a pet. I wasn't ever able to look at her--or my dog--quite the same way after that. It's enough to make me want to sing a Lee Greenwood song . . . nah, maybe not.

[Worst Username Ever]

5. I would imagine that if it were real, it would not be humane.

Dogs are pack animals, and dogs would undoubtedly form into packs with the strongest dominating and the weakest being killed or abandoned, made to fend on their own. Nature is not pretty.