China has ordered the 112 official Olympic restaurants not to serve dog meat during the Beijing Olympics in August so as not to gross out Westerners. They also strongly suggest that all the other eateries in town stop selling dog meat for the month, too. The move is like their orders to shut factories to clear pollution for the month: purely cosmetic. If anything it shows how deeply entrenched dog-eating is. Animal groups say the practice is actually growing into a big business worth about $4 billion a year.

Even the government's Xinhua News Agency announcement shows how dog-eating is almost revered: "Gourmets with a special predilection for dog meat will be disappointed if they come to the Chinese capital in the coming two months." The Beijing Catering Trade Association (BETA) will "blacklist" those who don't cooperate, but they'll make an exception for dog meat "for medicinal purposes." Many Chinese think eating canines lowers blood pressure, the agency says.

According to the Asian Animal Protection Network, eating dog used to be a "cottage industry" where the rural poor would raise puppies to take to market. Now it's become fashionable -- especially in southern China and among Koreans. Dog meat is more expensive than pork. Factory farms with horrific conditions raise the dogs. The Asia Animal Protection Network says the farms are now importing big, docile breeds, especially St. Bernards, known locally as "Big Dumb Dog," as dog livestock. The Filipino organization Dog Meat Trade also reports that the dog meat industry is expanding and is now about $3.8 billion.

Almost every time I walk my aging dog Jolly down the street in a special harness he uses for the stairs, I get stopped by other dog owners wondering where they can get one. Dogs, like people, seem to be living longer these days, but the market for the special tools you need to keep them comfortable has not quite kept up.

Some of the big pet retailers are catching on, but not fast enough. Pet catalog giant Drs. Fosters and Smith has an arthritis section, but the best product I've found so far is a seat-belt harness similar to the one they sell in another section. Before the harness Jolly would have scary slips; now he's slow, but fine. People who live in apartments without elevators desperately need something to keep their dogs safely walking up and down the stairs. Like many big pet stores, they're good for orthopedic beds and glucosamine supplements, but not that much specialty equipment.

I asked my vet if he had any recommendations for a special harness. He said he was just about to ask me where I got Jolly's harness to recommend to other patients. I'm in the market for a harness the gives him a little more support, so I did some research. Here's what I found: