The story of Lubao, Kenya's famous dog market that has survived for over 70 years

If you arrive in Lubao on a Thursday expecting the usual market soundtrack - traders shouting prices, matatus hooting and buyers haggling over tomatoes - you'll know you've taken the wrong turn.

The loudest voices here have four legs.

A chorus of barks rises above the shops as men, women and children converge from different parts of western Kenya, each leading a dog by a rope or chain, tucked under an arm or coaxed onto a pickup.

Welcome to Lubao Dog Market in Malava Constituency, Kakamega County - perhaps the only place in Kenya where dogs, not goats or cattle, are the main attraction.

70-year old tradition

For decades, Lubao has been the destination for anyone looking for a good dog.

Long before German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Boerboels became popular in urban homes, farmers, hunters and livestock keepers travelled here in search of hardy indigenous dogs known for guarding homesteads and tracking game.

Older traders say the market dates back to the 1950s and grew into one of East Africa's best-known dog trading centres.

Every Thursday, buyers would arrive from Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu and even neighbouring Uganda, turning what would otherwise be a quiet shopping centre into a bustling marketplace.

Unlike livestock auctions, there are no fixed prices.

A dog is worth whatever a buyer believes it is.

Age, health, size, temperament and hunting ability all come into play. Some change hands for just a few hundred shillings, while well-trained hunting or security dogs can fetch several thousand.

Not just pets, but working animals

Ask many of the traders why they're buying a dog, and the answer is rarely, "My children wanted a pet."

Most are looking for a worker. Some need a dog to guard livestock.

Others want one to protect a rural homestead. Hunters still visit in search of dogs with a strong sense of smell and stamina, although hunting has declined significantly over the years.

The market has also become something of a meeting point. Traders swap stories, compare breeds and exchange tips on breeding and training.

For many regulars, Thursday at Lubao is as much about community as it is about business.

But times have changed.

The rise of imported breeds and changing lifestyles have reduced demand for indigenous dogs, and the market is no longer as busy as it was at its peak. Even so, it has refused to disappear.

Instead, it has evolved.

Today, veterinary officers and public health officials regularly use market day to vaccinate dogs against rabies and educate owners on responsible animal care.

With hundreds of dogs passing through Lubao over the course of a year, the market has become an important stop in western Kenya's efforts to control the disease.

That means a place once known simply for buying and selling dogs now also plays an unexpected role in protecting both animal and public health.

So, the next time someone tells you they've been shopping in Kakamega, don't be too quick to assume they came back with maize, beans or a sack of potatoes.

If it was Thursday, they might just have returned with a barking companion on the back seat.