Japanese turning to dog nurseries, homes for aged dogs

Wednesday 20th August, 04:32 PM JST

TOKYO —

With the number of people with pets increasing annually, some pet owners are turning to day care centers for dogs and homes for aged dogs. ‘‘I’ve started a service I wanted,’’ said Masaaki Abe, president of Dogs DayCare Japan in Tokyo’s Minato Ward. People can hardly look after their pets if they are working. ‘‘I thought people should be able to work without anxiety and pets wouldn’t feel lonely if there are places like day care centers,’’ he said. Owners are required to pay an admission fee of 21,000 yen plus slightly more than 310,000 yen per quarter if their dogs are small, but transportation, meals, trimming and health management expenses are inclusive. During the daytime, dogs play indoors and staffers take them for walks.

A working couple in Tokyo has three dogs that were about to be disposed of. They began using the day care service after one of the dogs kept whimpering as it was shut indoors during their out-of-town business trips, causing complaints from neighbors. ‘‘The day care center is helpful as it can respond to our requests when there is urgent business. The dogs’ mood has changed since they started going there. Spending money for their happiness is the same as spending it on educating children,’’ the husband said. Pets are also graying and those requiring care are increasing. For people unable to look after old pets, facilities to take care of them for the rest of their lives are appearing throughout the country. The Pet Resort College, which opened in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, in September 2007, is offering a pet hotel and a lifelong care program for old dogs. Its parent company is Pets First Inc. in Tokyo which runs pet shops. Yoshitada Nakamura, manager of the Pet Resort College, said, ‘‘We take responsibility for caring for them to the end. We wanted to reduce the number of those put down as much as possible.’’ A deposit of 300,000 yen, returnable upon termination of a contract, and a lump sum of 1.5 million yen is required for small and medium-size dogs that are more than 8 years old. Expenses for regular medical checkups and trimming are included, and photos of pets are sent to their owners once a month.

Kyodo

10 Comments

cwhite at 07:46 PM JST - 20th August

and when they go bankrupt? What kind of fail safe backup contingency plan do they have like any other bank, securities or insurance company.
romulus3 at 07:59 PM JST - 20th August

clever man. he will be rich. the aging dog population in japan is going to ruin this economy. No more doggy wipes sold. back to licking their own butt. and what about sales of gourmet doggy food and expensive make overs and kawaii puppy wear? what about doggy beds and doggy fitness clubs? what about doggy cafes and doggy dating? this man alone can keep it going for an extra few years.
SushiSake3 at 10:12 PM JST - 20th August

Japan - it's going to the dogs, that's all I have to say about this barking mad situation.
DeepAir65 at 10:59 PM JST - 20th August

round where I live there are 3 dog grooming shops or pet hotels for every on other shop - or so it feels!!!

HELLO - if you both work and have to lock you dogs inside for 23 hours a day then you should not be owning them.

For the record I am not a dog lover - just common sense. Mind you 90% of the dogs in Japan bear more resemblance to rats than dogs!
usaexpat at 11:30 PM JST - 20th August

In normal countries with normal owners (i.e. people who don't push their dogs around in baby strollers) when a pet become to feeble or old to function they are put down. This is one of the hard responsibilities of owning a pet. If you don't have the constitution to deal with the fact that your pet won't outlive you then please do not become a pet owner.
GW at 01:00 AM JST - 21st August

some of these pet owners need to be put down

A working couple in Tokyo has three dogs that were about to be disposed of. They began using the day care service after one of the dogs kept whimpering as it was shut indoors during their out-of-town business trips, causing complaints from neighbors

this couple shud be the first to go, what a sorry excuse for human beings.

I have a dog, 2cats, a ferret, a couple frogs, one frog is about 14yrs & counting...........

And people wonder why so many parents in Jpn cant take care of their kids, this country is going down, it will get uglier as the days pass, there is little hope here for the future
OhioDonna at 03:57 AM JST - 21st August

Good Grief! I do not understand this madness. I was born and reared on a farm so maybe that has an effect on my way of thinking. Animals (dogs and cats) were to be cared for and not abused but when they were too sick to live without pain or their upkeep became too expensive , we ethuanized in a humane way. Our pets were also working animals. The dogs were herders and hunters and the cats were vermin catchers. It was not easy to put them down but that is the way of life on farm. Our animals were well cared for and loved but we were practical people.
BullDogBagCo at 09:51 AM JST - 21st August

Makes perfect since. By making our pets lives easier, it makes our lives easier. Well done.

www.Bulldogbagcompany.com
Notginger at 12:28 PM JST - 21st August

We used to say to our dog, "wag your tail if you want to go to the glue factory" and that's exactly where he ended up. There's a growing divide between the haves and have nots in this country and it seems that the haves are the have nots in the brain department.
Starke at 04:13 PM JST - 24th August

Seems the dogs in this town are getting better care than the elderly human beings are, that is the sadest part of this story.