Bacon

That said- people DO eat dogs. It’s a traditional food or even staple in places of the world- which has been increasingly under scrutiny of late. Many meat eaters don’t eat pork. If there was a more culturally blind way to oppose meat I’m not super sure what it would be. And many people DO keep pigs as pets. In fact- some even eat their pet pigs when the time comes.

Much like horses- dogs generally aren’t thought to be very good quality meat by most people though, and also like horses- their more traditional use as working animals makes them more valuable for their help than their meat. If you ride your horse and use it to help plow and cart... and your dog helps you hunt game or herd livestock... why would you eat the thing that helps you make more food than the animal itself? That’s just dumb. But most people don’t eat their pets.

That’s putting asides the fact that dogs and humans have literally co evolved to be partners- with dogs and humans picking up traits to better be able to coexist with and somewhat understand each other. Dogs are literally more than just cute, or useful. They are like a cousin to humans. Our species have “grown up together” and helped each other evolve our selves and societies to what they are. There are theories that basic traits like pack hunting, centralized living as opposed to constant migration, and other things central to human survival and evolution were actually taught to us by dogs- that dogs enabled us to make the early steps to be able to transition from hunters to farmers and livestock tending, and even the idea to build homes as opposed to finding natural shelter!