Barking up the wrong tree
I don’t know how many times I’ve been told — by people who never lived in Mexico, or don’t really pay attention to what goes on around them — that “Mexicans don’t like pets.” Uh… ok… that must account for the article in today’s Milenio:
The largest veterinary hospital of the world is in Mexico, on the Ciudad Universitaria campus of UNAM. The Banfield Animal Hospital, treats 250 patients, mostly dogs and cats, weekly, although it has capacity to handle up to 80 animals a day.
The hospital’s innovative philosophy is to treat pets as parts of their family. Each patient has a “personalized” treatment plan, with administration provided by special software, call petware. The medical at the University in March 2005 by an alliance of School of Veterinary Medicine and students who needing to complete professional practice as well as those looking to fulfill their national services obligations (National service is required, but students can complete their obligations by doing service connected with their training and studies).
The number of pets in Mexico is unknown. Banfield’s General Director, Dr. Fausto Reyes, estimates there are 22 million dogs and 15 million cats. “On one time, we asked that pets be included on the national census, but nothing ever came of it.
The Mex Files 
If liking pets means buying a puppy and letting your kids play with it for a few days and then waiting until it gets too big for the concrete 5 x 7 patio outside so that you can throw it on top of your roof to live out its days without adequate shelter against the rain or the sun, throwing food and water up every once in a while to make sure it doesn’t die, then yeah, Mexicans like pets.
I have no opinion on Mexicans and pets… but it does bother me, to a certain extent, that you refer to “treating pets as parts of their family”, as an innovative philosophy.