TOKYO —

What to do when your pet can’t join you on vacation? In Japan, one option is to board it in a pet hotel — which sounds like a good idea, but can be a nightmare. Some kennels charge exorbitant rates and cram your beloved animal into the cat- or dog-sized equivalent of a six-mat apartment.

It was the poor condition of local pet hotels that inspired Lene Borup Kimura, a Danish woman who moved to Japan 3 1/2 years ago, to start a sitting service in 2005. Being an avid dog lover who missed her companion back home, Kimura saw an opportunity to spend time with animals while helping people in need.

When her daughter arrived in 2007, the visiting pooches had to go — but Kimura didn’t want Tokyo’s pet owners to be forced to subject their animals to substandard care. So she started Petsitting Connection, which links up like-minded pet owners to look after each other’s animals.

Kimura’s role is now simply as a facilitator, with owners and pet-sitters sorting out the specifics between them. Most arrangements typically involve the sitter dropping in on the owner’s home to feed their pet, checking that everything is all right, giving the animal some company and, if it’s a dog, taking it for a walk. In some cases, the dog will move in with the caretaker for the holiday period.

Kimura makes clear that this is a labor of love. “The service is based on liking animals and not about making money,” she says. The remuneration is up to the parties involved, and most barter for services rather than cash. If there is money in the mix, Kimura tries to find sitters who work for under 1,000 yen per hour, and if she finds out a caretaker is charging an unfair price, she won’t recommend them. “When I first started and was sitting for other people, I had no set price list; people paid what they thought the favor was worth,” says Kimura.

Another source for finding pet-sitters in Tokyo is the Japan with Kids online forum, although the site tends to have more owners looking for caretakers than pet-sitters offering their help. “The problem in Tokyo is people need a pet sitter but they can’t return the favor,” says Kimura. “It’s especially hard around holiday times: December, May and September.”

One person who can help during these busy times is Amanda Tyska, an American student at Tokyo’s International Christian University, who spends her holidays and weekends looking after four-legged friends. “Back in the U.S., I cared for two dogs and four cats. I’ve also owned rodents, reptiles, birds and fish, and have cared for pets of relatives and neighbors,” she explains. Because Tyska is not a professional sitter — just a devout animal lover — her fee is negotiable and varies from job to job. If you feel more comfortable with a professional, try the Yamanote Animal Care Service. All staff have formal qualifications, and they’ll look after animals ranging from birds to turtles, all of which are cared for at the customer’s home.

Thanks to the increasing availability of pet-sitters, Tokyo has become a friendlier place to keep an animal. Yet Kimura still urges prospective pet-owners use caution. “Think before you get a pet here. It’s a living, breathing being that needs to be properly cared for.”

• Petsitting Connection: www.royalbluedk.com/ad/pet_sitting_connection.html

• Yamanote Animal Care Service: www.petsitter-acs.com

• Japan with Kids: www.tokyowithkids.com/discussions/messages/3/424.html

• Amanda Tyska: rogueshadow@gmail.com

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