The Law Concerning Service Dogs for Persons with Disabilities was very recently revised in an attempt to rectify some of the shortcomings in the original version.
One of the major problems in the original law was that, despite its being an access law for those being assisted by service dogs, there was no penalty for institutions and individuals who deny them the right of entry In asking for a solution to this issue, the service dog users themselves were not necessarily looking for ways in which to penalize facilities and businesses that fail to grant them access.
Instead many of the users preferred to have a public "complaints department", so to speak, specific to this problem.
According to the revised law, as of April 1, 2008 all prefectural governments, as well as those of major cities, must specify a particular office to respond to complaints from service dog users.
The facilities which the service dogs and their users enter are also free to report to this office an any troubles they may be experiencing.

Another glitch in the original law was its inability to mandate all private businesses and offices to accept service dogs belonging to employees.
Before the revision private company offices were simply asked to "try" and accommodate service dogs.
One can imagine that such wording would not have much effect.
As of October 1 2008, all private companies, larger than the minimum size of business specified in the law, must allow employees using service dogs to bring their dogs to their place of work.

Hopefully these revisions will further help service dog users to move about unhindered in society.
However those people with disabilities living with their service dogs are hoping that there will come a day when social institutions decide to accept them not because the law tells them they must, but because they themselves feel that it is the "right thing to do".

The Pet Food Institute of Japan just completed its 15th internet survey of dog and cat owners in Japan. The organization conducting the survey is a federation of 80 companies that mainly manufacture pet food. According to the newest survey, there are currently 26million 839 thousand dogs and cats kept as pets throughout the country this is an increase of 1.3million compared to the previous year and is clear proof of the increasing trend in pet keeping. This trend is expected to continue for some time.

But there is another trend that has continued to draw public attention and that is the increase in the average age of pet dogs and cats. During the survey conducted in the previous year approximately one half of the dogs were over 7 years of age. This time the survey showed that close to one third of the pet dogs and cats were over 10 years of age. In other words one out of every 3 dogs and cats would be "senior citizens". For pet dogs 55.3% were over 7 years old as compared to 51% the previous year, and for cats 47.4% as compared to 45.8% the previous year. For those aged over 10 years, the percentage was 29.3% for dogs and 31% for cats as compared to 29% and 28.3% respectively for the previous year.

The reasons behind the increased number of seniors are many, including better nutrition, advanced veterinary care, and indoor housing.

Another interesting trend seen especially with cats is the increase in the number of individual animals kept per pet keeping household. The current average number of individual cats per cat owner is 1.84 as compared to 1.39 for dogs.

This means that many households will have multiple cats. It seems that this pattern of keeping multiple cats is on the rise. This is understandable when looking at the size of an average Japanese home. When cats are given enough vertical moving apace, the floor space does not need to be extremely large to keep multiple animals. Thus for Japanese homes that do tend to be more compact, it would not be as difficult to keep more than one cat as compared to dogs.

When the Pet Food Institute of Japan first started their survey in 1994 there were a little over 9 million pet dogs and 6 million pet cats. This has in the last 15 years increased to over 13 million dogs and 10 million cats. The rising is trend is still continuing. In current Japanese society the number of children under 15 years of age is decreasing annually and the dog cat pet population is increasing in inverse proportion to this. A worldwide trend ?

Spring is the season for new beginnings in Japan. It is the time for graduating as well as for starting a new school year.
Veterinarians graduate each year from 16 veterinary colleges throughout the country. There are 10 national universities with veterinary schools, 5 private universities and one university belonging to a regional body that graduate veterinarians each year.

There are approximately a thousand graduates every year that join the ranks of professionals. Recently, there has been much worry over the lack of veterinarians in certain areas. Of the 1000 graduates that are certified as veterinarians every year about 45% go into small animal practice. Veterinary expertise is needed in such areas as public health and food production but there seems to be a problem here in terms of securing a steady flow of new graduates into these areas.
Less than one percent of new graduates go into large animal practice and about five percent take on government jobs in the area of public health.
With the growing issues of zoonotic diseases throughout the world it is extremely important that enough personnel be secured in this area.
The Japanese authorities have been worried in this regard and many have been thinking about the expansion of veterinary education opportunities, i.e. the authorization of new veterinary faculties as well as the expansion of existing schools. However it has been pointed out that the issue lies not in the absolute number of veterinarians being educated but rather in the imbalance of where the new graduates choose to go.
The biggest problem is probably the motivating factor or the lack of such in certain fields of occupation.
Large animal practice and the livestock area in general is less attractive compared to small animal practice in terms of remuneration and working hours. It this factor is not addressed the imbalance will continue and the lack of veterinarians in crucial areas will continue.
This is indeed a serious issue and all those involved in veterinary education in Japan must indeed become aware of this fact.

Animal assisted therapy and animal assisted activity have become popular concepts in Japan following the growth of this area in the United States. The one organization that has led this area in the country is the Companion Animal Partnership Program (CAPP) of the Japan Animal Hospital Association (JAHA). The Japan Animal Hospital Association is an organization of veterinary practitioners that was formed to enhance continuing education in the profession. This organization started a program under which volunteer pet owners would visit human medical facilities with their animals. The program was started in the early 1980's and continues to grow. CAPP has it's own internal rules and standards whereby visiting animals and their owners are evaluated for suitability. It is the most well known animal visitation program in the country and by far the largest.
Since the program is run by a veterinarian's group health checks and risk control through conducting them has always been emphasized.

As CAPP became more prominent in the country many smaller groups began to emerge. Some were of good quality and others not so. The main problem in Japan with the "animal therapy" issue is in the word itself.
First of all "who" conducts the therapy? Needless to say the therapy is for the humans, and thus only people, or professionals, certified to work with people can really "do" anything. In other words, the volunteer and the dog/cat are merely "tools" to be used by the human professionals, assistants that move according to the plans made by the human experts.
However there are now some courses in the country that are certifying "animal therapists". Whatever these people may be it is certainly hard to believe that a simple 1 or 2year course can enable a person to pass any national licensing programs for human professionals while at the same time teaching them the basic concepts of animal handling, welfare and care as well as basic concepts in animal assisted interventions.
But unfortunately the media and the public love the concept of dogs and cats being therapeutic and bringing joy to hospitals and nursing homes. And as a result the market is ripe with those who "want to learn", which in turn encourages those looking for a business chance to make use of the opportunity, oftentimes in ways that do not support the quality that the field definitely needs to be safe and effective.
This may not be a phenomenon unique to Japan. Worldwide the concept of animal assisted therapy is becoming more and more renowned and popular but at the same time people are losing their grip on the necessary elements such as risk control and animal welfare, and most of all coordination with human welfare and medicine.

Birds have always held a special place in the history of Japanese pets.
Small birds such as finches and canaries have been very popular in Japanese society for many years.
But even before the era of pet birds, in ancient Japanese society birds were seen as sacred creatures that carried the human souls to the heavenly place up about after the death of the physical body.

Birds were said to have the power to fly back and forth between the world of the dead and that of the living.
It is well known that the shamans or the priestesses in the ancient culture wore costumes resembling the bird.
Wooden birds have been found placed around grave mounds, these burial sites dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries. With the rise of the nobility in the capitol of Kyoto and the flowering of their culture a fondness for birds began to be expressed in more direct ways.

In the famous Pillow Book written during the Heian period, there is a phrase referring to the cute/sweet chicks (baby chickens). It is noted, however, that bird keeping had its origins in ancient China and that during this same period such birds as parrots, rare at the time, were presented to the Japanese emperor by Chinese emissaries.

The keeping of small birds as pets by the general population was popularized much later under the feudal regime. In the Edo period, under the famous Tokugawa Shogunate, the art of falconry become increasingly popular amongst the ruling samurai class. With the growth of falconry came the need for "Small prey". As a result there grew a body of professional "bird catchers" and "bird shops" whose job it was to supply sparrows, pigeons and other "prey". Not all the birds that were caught were used for "the hunt" and the leftovers were kept in the castles of the samurai lords.
Furthermore the bird shops would sell the leftover birds to the townspeople as well. And hence the practice of keeping small birds as pets spread rapidly throughout the general population, though needless to say, this occurred mainly amongst the fairly affluent and cultured townspeople of the Edo period. It is interesting to note that many books on the art of bird keeping were published during the Edo period. It was also during this time that many Japanese breeds we created through the cross-breeding of existing species.

Though Japan was being ruled under an isolationist policy during this period it is said that the Shogun and other powerful lords imported rare species of birds from southeast Asia and other regions including Africa and South America, through Dejima, the sole door open to foreign traders in the prefecture of Nagasaki. The Japanese "bird culture" is best understood through Japanese art. It is amazing to see the theme of "Kacho-fugetsu" (flower, bird, wind, and moon) carried through to such soaring heights!

2009 is the year of the cow according to the oriental zodiac. Though Japan is famous for producing some of the best beef in the world, the need to boost domestic food production has become a very real issue for the country.
One of the problems facing the farm animal industry in Japan is the decreasing number of veterinarians going into this particular field.
During the past year there has been much talk about whether or not there are enough veterinarians to meet the needs of the country. Currently there are 16 veterinary schools throughout Japan. 10 of the veterinary schools belong to national universities, one is part of a regional public university, and 5 are privately run. A little under one thousand graduates leave these educational institutions every year and sit for the national licensing examinations. The pass rate for the national examinations is between 80~90%, which means that close to a thousand new vets join the job market every year. For a small country like Japan this seems to be a fairly sufficient number of professionals. However, when one looks at where these veterinarians go in terms of employment a certain imbalance becomes apparent. In Japan there are currently approximately 36,000 licensed veterinarians registered with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Of these veterinarians a little over 13,000 are in small animal practice as compared to about 4500 specializing in large, or farm animal practice.

A decade ago there were only 7600 veterinarians in small animal practice. Though the total number of registered veterinarians at the time was just under 30,000, the percentage of small animal clinicians was 26% whereas today this percentage has risen to over 36%. On the other hand in the last 10 years the number of large animal practitioners has decreased by a thousand, percentage - wise going down from 18% to 12%.
So... are the cows going to have a hard time this year?
That would be a hard question to answer accurately, but the number of available doctors is certainly decreasing for them.
On a more serious note, this may have a very negative effect on Japan's domestic food production.

The issue here may not be the actual number of veterinarians, but rather their distribution.
Compensation, working hours? What are the key factors that may contribute to the lack of motivation to join the farm animal community? Unless such factors are analyzed the cows may continue to lose their medical support!

Wherever they go Japanese people are always asked about whaling.
Do they agree? Do they support it? Why do they like whale meat?...

Years and years ago, especially in the immediate post war period when Japan suffered from extreme poverty whale meat was a good, cheap source of protein. In fact many middle aged citizens can still remember those school lunches where whale meat appeared in various forms. Stewed whale, whale cutlet... elementary school children were served the meat in various forms, and as with any food some liked it and some didn't. It was nothing terribly special.
But as the nation developed and food supplies became abundant people began in general to turn to tastier morsels, especially those that did not take to the flavor of whale meat to begin with.

The whaling industry once booming began to dwindle. There are many reasons for this but one of the major factors was probably the decrease in demand. This in itself sheds light on the Japanese public stance on whaling... "I really don't care." Many Japanese see and hear about the aggressive tactics of some anti - whaling groups vis - a - vis their whaling boats in the news. And many Japanese are appalled by their militant actions, but fail to comprehend the true meaning behind these actions.
The Japanese media fail to give a full report of what is going on and why. As mentioned in an earlier column, the average person on the street would probably not worry too much about not being able to eat whale meat again. Nor would they lose any sleep over "a dying cultural tradition." Unfortunately there is so much mutual misunderstanding over the decisions and actions of a small number of people that the whaling issue has now become "Japan v.s. the world." The small number of people referred to here would be those in politics and in the government who continue to insist on the need for whaling, be it for scientific research or for other reasons and those who attack the decision of those people by whatever means possible, both legal and illeg. There was an incident sometime ago where Green Peace members stole into the offices of a private courrier service to dig up proof that the crew of the research boat were sending whale meat back to their homes after coming in to port from a "scientific expedition." Needless to say this was a totally illegal endeavor and served to undermine the integrity of the environmental group in the eyes of the Japanese public. This tilts the Japanese attitude in the wrong direction.

Citizens begin to feel that they are being picked on and in fact being attacked by irrational environmental groups and animal welfare charities around the world. The feelings will arise irregardless of whether or not the people crave whale meat. On the other hand the majority of Japanese people do not in fact crave for whale meat.
But does the world know that? Wouldn't it be so much cleaner and wiser if there could be a way for the anti-whaling groups to incorporate the citizen's lack of interest in obtaining this food to suit the needs of their campaigns? How could it be done? Well, for one thing, focusing on the fact of how impossible it is to humanely slaughter a whale instead of an environmental resource issues may be a start. If the people are made to look closely at how much an individual animal suffers public opinion will begin to flow in a certain direction.
True, many groups will say they already have ... but not enough that the average Japanese citizen knows or is aware of such. If the Japanese media is unwilling to report on this there should be a way to show independent films or distribute literature.
In any event the mutual misunderstanding and misconception has gone on long enough. Someone must make a constructive move now.

There are two new developments in the "pet area" in Japan that have recently been taken up by the foreign media. These are the "cat cafe's" and rental pets. The cat cafe is a relatively new phenomenon but one that is certainly expanding. It is basically a coffee shop where cats are allowed to roam freely. The customers do not bring these cats, they are all a part of the establishment. Think of small country inn or a coffee house where the owner's cat may be hanging around to appraise the visitors, or just simply living there. The cat cafe is a modern day "staged version" of this.
For cat lovers and especially for those that for one reason or another cannot keep pet cats, the owners of these establishments provide "coffee with cat comfort " simply by keeping multiple cats and allowing the customers to interact with them. The cats walk around the shop, climb onto laps, play, enjoy being petted, in short, they as cats do, do whatever they please. The customers come in, order their coffee, tea, whatever, and pet cats, talk to cats, play with cats, cuddle cats...

In most places people are allowed to hang around for hours if they order something from the menu. There are some places where the set-up is so homey that people are asked to remove their shoes before walking into the carpeted shop area. In such cases the visitors may even decide to lie around with the cats.
This is very different from simply walking into a coffee shop and finding the owner's cat perched on the counter.
The cat is not on "incidental". They are there for a purpose. They are placed there somewhat artificially as a part of the services the shop provides.
Doesn't seem like such a bad idea? Well, it really does depend on how well the management can control the environment to avoid health, sanitation, and animal welfare issues. There are some cat cafes where every cat on the premises sports a runny nose and teary eyes.When one hears lots of sneezing cats, it is time to wonder how well taken care of the cats are, and whether or not the management includes vet bills in its expenses. Some places greet you with flying hairs and litter sprayed on the floor from boxes sitting side by side with the coffee tables.

Health officials as well as animal welfare groups are beginning to look hard at the multivarious problems inherent in the "cat cafe world".

It may not be a bad idea if cats can be given nice secure homes in exchange for a few hours of "cat therapy" work everyday in a safe, non-threatening environment. Perhaps we should not be so quick to simply dismiss these establishments as "poorly managed exploitation of cats", but as is always the case there are entrepreneurs out there without an inkling of know ledge about or compassion for cats who are seeing this simply as another business opportunity, a quick way to make money without making a large investment and without putting in place the necessary measures for welfare and risk control.

The third week of September is "Be Kind To Animals Week" in Japan. This is nationally recognized and many animal events are held throughout the country. The major event organized by the Ministry of the Environment and major animal welfare charities is held in central Tokyo at the Ueno Park, famous for the Ueno Zoo, the oldest zoological garden in Japan dating back to the 19th century.
The event consists of booths set up with various displays by different animal welfare groups, and private corporations. There are demonstrations such as obedience classes and hearing dog work held to educate the public.
Some booths have a drop-in consultation corner where pet owners visiting the event may chat with an expert advisor about food, training and other daily issues.

The event is all in all a fun and entertaining experience for all...
Except the pets themselves. Why? Or What?
Every year many pet owners opt to come and visit the fun event with their animals especially their canine companions. It is still rather warm in Tokyo in September and the event takes place outside.
Every year one sees "panting pooches" being dragged along by their excited owners flitting in and out of the various booths like butterflies. Put together warm weather, lots of sun, lots of people, lots of excitement, asphalt grounds, large stuffed animals milling around, lots of children... and you have a severely non-dog friendly environment.
The greatest paradox one sees in animal charity events is the fact that many of them are really "no fun" for the animals themselves.So why not leave them at home?
The owner can come by himself/herself and enjoy milling through the crowds looking at the interesting displays.
But no... that wouldn't give them a chance to parade their super cute pure bred pooches in public! Yes, that's what this is all about.
Enjoy the event and show-off your dog. Japan has one of the highest ratio of purebred dogs in the pet dog population. Many owners are eager to "present" their dogs to the public. Good owners, kind owners, and educated owners fail to see the stress level in their dogs when they are made to accompany their people to social events.
Always wanting to be with your dog?
That in itself is a lovely concept but let's ask the dogs first!

Every dog coming into Japan must go through quarantine upon entering Japan. The period of quarantine at the Animal Quarantine Stations may very between individual dogs depending on their country of origin, rabies vaccination status, and health certificates issued by the relevant authorities in their respective countries. Formerly if the dog was from a designated rabies-free region the period of detention was 12hours or shorter.
The designated regions are Australia, Cyprus, Fiji Islands, 6reat Britain, 6uam, Hawaii, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and Taiwan.
Of course the dogs coming from these regions must also have had the proper documentation with them.
This includes certification from the quarantine authorities of these countries stating that the dog does not have rabies or leptospirosis, and that the said dog has been raised within the particular region since birth or has spent at least 6months in the region. The quarantine authorities of the dog's region of origin must also certify there have been no outbreaks of rabies in the area for the past 6months.

Currently, under the new system the quarantine period is 12hours or less, in principle, for all dogs.
However the dogs coming into Japan must be vaccinated at least twice before coming into Japan.
A puppy must receive its first vaccination at three months (or over) and the second one to two months after this. Six months must have passed after the second vaccination before the dog is able to enter Japan. This means that owners of dogs planning to move to Japan must prepare their dogs far in advance of their actual move into the country. Though this may seem like a cumbersome task it is much more preferable to having the dog spend time in the Animal Quarantine Stations, where the kennel conditions are in many ways inferior to private boarding facilities.
As for service dogs, it has always been possible to apply for special treatment in advance. Special exceptions for quarantine have been made with the approval of the Animal Quarantine Service prior to the new system where the period of detention has become less of a problem for these working animals.

In any event the fact that Japan is a rabies free country means that the authorities are working hard to ensure that it remains so.Rabies is a "big killer" on the Asian continent and one can never be "too careful".

Identification for pet dogs has always been a big issue in many countries. Dog tags, tattoos and such traditional methods are being taken over by microchips the world over and Japan is no exception. Unlike many other countries, dog registration is a must for all owners under the national rabies control law. However, the law still upholds tags as the legal method for identification and microchipping is not obligatory. Since many owners feel that the tags dangling from a dogs collar are a bother, the dogs do not always carry their ID tags on their bodies. This can be a big problem especially during natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods and the government and many private bodies are trying to promote the use of microchips.

The Japan Veterinary Medical Association along with several organizations for the protection of animals founded the Animal Identification Promction Organization (AIPO) in order to spread the use of microchips. In the fall of 2007 the number of individual microchip registrations was 95,240. There were 71,783 dogs, 21,813 cats, and 1644 "others".
As there are about 12 million dogs and about as many cats throughout Japan the numbers are still very low. The greatest number of microchip registrations for dogs by prefecture was seen in Tokyo, at 13,078 individuals. Hyogo Prefecture where the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck in 1995 ranked second at 10,706. The third place was taken by Kanagawa prefecture where the famous port city of Yokohama is located. As for cats Shizuoka prefecture was at the top with 8706 registrations and Tokyo came in second, followed by Hyogo.
The largest number of microchip registrations is seen in those areas where the local veterinary association and public officials are putting in increased efforts to boost the use of this system.
In Hyogo prefecture, that ranks second in the number of dog registrations, the prefectural veterinary association has been offering free microchipping at the puppy adoption event that takes place every year during "Be Kind to Animals Week". In Shizuoka prefecture, at the top for cat registrations, all veterinary hospitals (approximately 260) in the prefecture have been equipped with microchip readers.
On the other end of the scale the lowest ranking for dogs is Tottori and Tokushima prefectures at 29 dogs each and for cats, Akita at a mere 2 registrations.
Japan still has a long ways to go in terms of microchip ID's for all companion animals, but at least for dogs, if the legal requirements were changed to include compulsory microchipping the train would move much faster.

Akita-ken, Akita-inu, is a well known Japanese breed with many fanciers throughout the world. The breed originated as a hunting dog kept by hunters in and around the city of Odate in Akita Prefecture, one of the northern provinces on the mainland of Honshu. The breed was used for dog-fighting for a while since the EdoPeriod, the era of the Tokugawa Shogunate, but basically the Akita has always been a "matagi" dog, matagi is the traditional Japanese title for hunter.
The most famous Akita in Japan is a dog by the name of Hachiko. This dog, ever loyal to his master, kept returning to await him at the train station every evening even after his master's death.
The tale of Hachiko became known throughout the country when a major newspaper wrote about this loyal creature in 1932. The Akita has long been protected by the Akita-inu Hozonkai, the society for the Preservation of the Akita Dog. This society was founded in 1927 to bring back the true characteristics of the breed which had for some time been bred with larger European breeds to make "stronger dogs".
It is interesting to note that Hachiko's statue in front of the bustling Shibuya Station looks somewhat different from the Akitas we see today. It is said that Hachiko is a dog from the "interim period", the period of transition from the rather mixed Akitas to the pure form of the breed.

Currently as all dog fanciers know there are 2 types of Akita recognized by the FCI, the Akita and the American Akita.
The Akitas bred by the Society for the Preservation of the Akita Dog is today much closer to the original matagi dogs of Akita Prefecture.The American Akitas have a Strong German Shepherd influence.
The German Shepherd blood was added to the Akita during Word War II and many such dogs were taken back to the United States by military personnel during and after the Occupation. Hence the American Akita is different from the original Japanese "matagi dog".
There are pros and cons about the "favorable" qualities of the Akita dog. "Loyal" can also mean "not friendly to people outside the immediate family". "Aloof and proud" can mean "a bit shy and wary of strangers".
Though there are many enthusiastic fans around the world, domestically the Akita is not the most popular breed. It is said that the number of Akitas being bred in the European countries surpasses the figures for Japan.
Though the Akita will continue to thrive in foreign lands, the breed continues to decline in its land of origin.

Though dogs and cats are by far the most popular pets in Japan, the growing popularity of rabbits is also something to consider.
Because of the lack of statistics the exact number of pet rabbits is a bit obscure. However the growing number of "rabbit - only" pet shops as well as publications (magazines) focusing exclusively on the rabbit far surpasses the attention given to other small pets.
The increase in popularity, the increase in numbers of course, means the increase in problems.
Improper breeding, abandonment, abuse...these problems are not and will not be foreign to the rabbit community.
Rabbit lovers in Japan must take care not to let these issues grow alongside the popularity.

On the other hand in the dog world dachshunds are still the reigning breed in terms of popularity. They have been on the top of the list for almost 10 years now. The Japan Kennel Club counted 93,000 registered individuals for 2007. Despite the popularity and the large number of individuals currently being kept throughout the country, the dachshund did not come to Japan till after World War II.
The first dogs were bred from the standard dachshund brought in by the U.S. Occupational Forces. But the standards did not enjoy popularity for a very long time. The reasons may vary, but perhaps because of the housing situation, most Japanese houses being smaller than those in the United States, the miniature dachshund took over the scene. It was around the end of the 1970's when the number of miniature dachshunds overtook the standards. Since then the standard dachshunds have steadily decreased in numbers. Today, walking through a Japanese park one can be sure to encounter several dachshunds over a short period of time but one never sees a standard among them. Currently, approximately 95% of registered dachshunds are miniatures. Of all the types the standard dachshund ranks the lowest within the breed. The statistics now say less than 1%. It is always amazing to see how human preferences can so quickly change the scenery. In less than 60 years the dachshund has managed to overtake a foreign country.
And what about the indigenous breeds? Though Shibas are still very popular and can be spotted frequently, it is rare indeed to meet a Japanese chin, Japanese terrier, or a Japanese spitz. Because of their sheer size it is not surprising that Akitas, Tosas, Kishus etc. are not up and about town as often as the other breeds, but the aforementioned three are small, compact, and fairly manageable breeds. Why have they disappeared? That is a difficult question to answer.
The Japanese spitz is the only one with an "understandable" explanation. In the 1960's the Japanese spitz was an extremely popular breed, but the breed then had a strong tendency to be very, very "yappy". Since Japanese people must live "back to back" in a very small country noisy dogs can be a true liability and hence the decline of spitz popularity.
Since then dedicated spitz people have bred quieter dogs but the breed never quite regained its popularity.
It would be interesting to do some extensive surveys on breed preference to see what exactly makes people choose a certain breed.

A local pet insurance company has been operating a hotline for pet care issues.The hotline caters mainly to dog owners and was originally set up for the purpose of assisting owners deal with behavior and training issues. The most recent statistics from the hotline show that owners were most concerned with their pet's toiletting behavior. Biting came in as the second largest concern. 19.1% of the callers wanted advice on house-training and 19% wanted to discuss their dog's biting behavior. These top two issues have not changed over time, but the third place is now occupied by a newcomer. Though it has nothing to do with behavior or training, 11.8% of the owners calling wanted information on what to feed their pets, as compared to 7.9% previously. How much to feed, how to feed, and what to feed were typical questions, but many owners were also worried about the safety and quality of foods. Due to the various pet food safety issues that have arisen during the past several years owners in Japan are now becoming more and more sensitive to what and how they feed their pets. Another topic showing an upward trend on this particular hotline is "walks and outside exercise". Questions about walking the dog were previously asked by only 3.3% of the callers, this is now up to 7.1%. Food and exercise, the key to a healthy lifestyle, are important for non-human members of the family as well!

And... in direct relation to the changing nature of "owner worries", a pet food company has done some interesting surveys in the veterinary community about obesity in pets. According to this recent survey nearly 70% of the participating veterinarians felt that "pet obesity" is on the increase. When comparing dogs and cats many veterinarians said that the trend is slightly stronger in dogs.When asked whether or not the owners are aware of their pet's weight issue, about 18% of the vets replied that less than 10% of the owners are really aware of the problem. Over 27% of the vets said that perhaps 10~30% of the owners are aware of the problem. All in all close to 70% of the vets surveyed said that less than 50% of the owners they see are unaware of their pet's obesity.

The veterinary community feels that increased obesity is a serious health concern for many pets, resulting in the increase of heart diseases, endocrine problems and many more risks. But the owners do not seem to see this on the same level. It is ironic to compare the statistics from the endeavors of two different pet product companies. On the one hand owners are very much concerned about food and exercise for their pets, but on the other hand many of these owners do not seem to be able to correctly assess the health issues of their beloved animals. This may not be a phenomenon unique to Japan. It may be something that is common to owners throughout the modern day world!

The most recent statistics for pet keeping in Japan have just been published from the Pet Food Manufacturer's Association. According to their survey 18.9% of Japanese households have a pet dog and 14.4% have cats. This is slightly lower than the previous year where the numbers were 19.2% for dogs and 14.7% for cats. The percentages for 2007 when translated into numbers amount to 12 million 522 thousand dogs and 13 million 4 thousand cats. The total number of pet dogs and cats would be 25 million 526thousand for the year 2007.

The survey also looked into the ages of these dogs and cats, as longevity in the pet population is now an established phenomenon in this country. For dogs 51% were over 7yeare of age and for cats this percentage was 45.8%.

This shows that one half of the pet cat and dog population in Japan are now past their prime. Much more surprising than this was the amazing number of "very old" pets.

29% of all dogs were over 10years of age. In the case of cats this was 28.3%. This means that one out of every 4 pet dog or cat would be over 10years old! Just like the human population the dogs and cats in Japan are also entering the era of an aging population. Along with aging comes a growing concern for health issues.

Of all the dog owners surveyed over 90% are "very" to "fairly" concerned about - the health of their pets. Diet and exercise seem to be major areas of interest for these owners. It is indeed very timely that a new draft bill has been presented to the Japanese Diet with an aim to create new legislation to ensure the safety of pet foods for dogs and cats. It is also very pertinent that the current survey has included an item on the issue of "obesity" amongst dogs and cats. The survey showed that 21.3% of the dogs were "somewhat chubby" and 28% were outright "fat". For cats 23.8% were "somewhat chubby" and only 6.4% were "fat". With the increasing number of dogs and cats living indoors with their family, the issue of obesity may yet expand to "wider dimensions"!

This survey conducted by the pet food companies was done over the internet with a sample population of 4,666 households.

The 3 R's, reduction, refinement, and replacement is becoming increasingly well known amongst both scientists that conduct animal experiments and those groups that oppose the use of live animals for experimentation.

One of the R's that has gained much attention in Japan recently is "replacement", i.e. the replacing of animal experiments with alternative methods. In November 2005, the Japanese Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (JaCVAM) was established. JaCVAM was established as a part of the Division of Pharmacology at the National Center for Biological Safety and Research affiliated

with the National Institute of Health Sciences.
Needless to say JaCVAM was set up with the objective of ensuring that new or revised testing methods are validated and in the end accepted by regulatory agencies, as well as to expand international cooperation on alternatives to animal testing. Particularly important is the JaCVAM cooperation with the European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) and NICEATM (NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods) / ICCVAM (Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods). The more cooperation there is between the three centers the easier it would be to validate and peer review new test methods. This would all in the end serve to decrease the testing done on live animals.

The JaCVAM steering committee is comprised of six members, all of whom are researchers affiliated with the NIHS and other scientific bodies. But in addition to the steering committee JaCVAM has an advisory board comprised of eight members. The advisory board is made up of individuals belonging to the Japanese Society of Toxicology, the Japanese Association for Laboratory Animal Science, the Japanese Society for Alternative Animal Experiments, the Japanese Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, the Japanese Cosmetic Industry Association, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, and the Japanese Coalition for Animal Welfare. The board meets twice a year to monitor the activities of JaCVAM. It is heartening to see the animal welfare voice being included in this endeavor.

Animal experimentation is a very controversial field with aggressive advocacy in both the pro and con groups, it is high time that all interested parties gather their wisdom in trying to find new ways to improve the overall situation.

With the aging of the population, Japanese schools have been seeing a decline in their student population. As a result of the diminished size of the market many schools are struggling to maintain their business. One of the efforts in this area that many schools are making is the development of new areas to attract more students, i.e. schools are expanding their curriculum to appeal to a wider audience. In this endeavor, one of the key factors that many perceive as a big "attraction" is animals. Animals? Yes ... animals. There is a wide range of fields of study that focus on animals in the center of which is veterinary medicine.

Rumor says that many Japanese universities and colleges are currently trying to lay the foundation for establishing a veterinary school. However this is expensive business, not to mention the fact that since veterinary medicine is a nationally certified profession, there is much government red tape that one must go through especially with the Ministry of Education and Science in order to receive the proper accreditation. The easy way out, of course, is to establish "all sorts" of other fields. A classic example would be veterinary nursing. Many schools are now adding a vet-tech school to their campus to attract new students. The main problem here is the fact that veterinary nursing is only a "semi-established" profession in Japan and there are very few experienced instructors with both clinical and academic knowledge that are capable of teaching. With the growing number of schools the teaching talent is spread thin and there are schools where there is not a single experienced veterinary technician on the permanent faculty. But sadly, the schools do not see this as a problem because of the fact that many universities still view animal nursing as merely a "semi-professional field" that anyone can teach. At the same time these same schools are establishing 4 year bachelor degree programs as opposed to the traditional 2~3 year vocational school programs that were the mainstay of vet-tech education. The issue is, are the 4 year programs truly "better" than the 2 year programs? Or are they just a stop gap measure for universities to prevent a further decline in the number of new applicants.

But in addition to all this schools are coming up with all sorts of "interesting" professions.

What is a "dog life counselor"? Or an "animal assisted welfare worker"? What does "bio-therapy" mean? Is a "therapy dog trainer" a true profession? How can a service dog trainer curriculum be run by someone who has never trained a certified service dog before? The fewer the students, the more chaotic this is going to become. The mad rush to coat the attractive key word "animal" with even more honey continues. It is up to the consumers, the students, to figure out what is really being taught!

2008 is the year of the mouse according to the oriental zodiac.

The story of the zodiac goes back to ancient lore when the animals were all asked to visit the Almighty. Legend says that the mouse who was very clever rode on the back of the cow till immediately before the gates of heaven and then jumped off to enter ahead of everyone else. Hence the 12 year cycle of the oriental zodiac starts with the mouse. It is also said that the mouse tricked the cat with false information about the invitation and thus the cat was not able to join the animal parade in time to be included in the zodiac. This is why the cat chases the mouse even today!

One of the famous storybook characters of feudal Japan was also named after the mouse. Nezumi - kozo or Mouse - boy is Japan's own Robinhood. The clever thief store riches from the prosperous citizens and then threw gold coins into the homes of the poor. Whether or not he really existed no one knows but the name Nezumi - kozo is known to everyone in the country.

There is another well known mouse tale called The Mouse's Betrothal. This story is about a family of mice looking for a good husband for their young daughter.

They go to the Sun to ask him to take their daughter as his bride because he is "so mighty". The Sun says that the clouds can cover his mighty rays so he is not the strongest. The mice then go to the Cloud to ask him to wed their daughter.

He says that he can be blown away easily by the strong Wind. The Wind says that though he is strong the mighty wall cannot be blown over. Finally when the family approaches the Wall, the supposedly mightiest of them all, the Wall says the following "Though I am strong and cannot be destroyed by the strong Wind, there is one who can go through even myself."

And who may that be? " The little mice will chew and burrow their way through my mighty body!" And so.... the family of mice scurry back to their own village and their daughter is then happily married off to a strapping young mouse who, after all, is the mightiest of them all!

Good luck to all in the year of the mouse.

The safety of pet foods has been a hot topic for some time now with the big scare that came from contaminated ingredients used in North America.

Though Japan was not directly affected nor "hit" by this incident it did trigger enough worries amongst the pet-owning public. As a result of the various concerns expressed by the consumers and because of the extent of the damages recognized overseas, the Japanese government decided that something had to be done.

There are currently no laws in Japan governing the safety of pet foods, but it seemed that time was ripe for a change in this area.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries joined with the Ministry of the Environment to form a task force to look into the matter of how pet food safety could be regulated in Japan.

The two ministries decided to cooperate on the matter since the former is the regulatory body for animal feeds as well as the certifying body for veterinarians and the latter is responsible for the Japanese law concerning animal welfare. Since both parties are involved in the protection of pets, it seemed only natural that the two ministries form a joint task force.

The task force itself was made up of academics, veterinary practitioners, lawyers, consumers, and representatives of the industry. The task force finished their discussions in November, 2007 and the government will now move on to formulate plans for some regulatory measures based on the results of these discussions. The initial discussions were focused on dog and cat foods and hence regulations will also start at this level. Though there are many people who own animals other than dogs and cats, mainly birds, rabbits, guinea pigs and other pocket pets, over 90% of the food market consists of dog and cat foods. It seemed a logical step to start with the foods that have the largest share of the market.

However the government and the task force both stated that dog and cat foods will be the only focus "for the time being", meaning other types of pet foods will most likely be considered in the future for regulatory purposes.

The important point concerning the formulation of this task force goes over and beyond pet food regulations. The fact that the government is ready to discuss the safety of pet foods points to the fact that the importance of pets and their health to the public who consider them members of their family is finally being acknowledged.

Pets are no longer "peripheral things" that do not merit official attention, they are important members of the human family and deserve to be treated so.

Well.. it took a while, didn't it.

Experiencing the loss of a beloved family pet is truly a sad occasion for people in any country. Japan is no exception and pet owners in the country deal with the bereavement process in numerous ways. The Japanese are a curious lot when it comes to matters of religion. Though many people are not really "believers" of any single faith, they opt to bury their dead with a Buddhist ceremony. Hence there are many Buddhist temples in Japan that will offer prayer services and burial grounds for non-human members of the family. Animal remains are not allowed in human cemeteries under the law, thus families must look for those that are exclusively for pets. And in recent years, numerous pet cemeteries have spring up around the country.

The Japanese cremate their dead in most cases so pets are also cremated. Here again there are crematoriums for pets throughout the country. There are several options for the owner when he/she decides to cremate their beloved animal. The animal can be cremated along with other deceased pets and the remains put into a joint memorial. Many temples and pet cemeteries will have a large memorial monument for all animals. The owner can put the ashes of the deceased companion into the vault here to be mixed with others whose owners have also done the same.

But if the owner desires to cremate the animal and keep the ashes, individual cremation is also available. Many facilities will come to the home to pick up the deceased animal and return the ashes after cremation. If the owner wishes to accompany the animal to the crematorium and "pick-up" the ashes on-site that is also an option.

There are also pet funerary services that own mobile crematorium units. If the owner wants to have his/her companion animal cremated on the grounds of the family home these services will drive their mobile units right up to the front door!

What do Japanese owners do with the ashes if the animal is cremated individually. Here again there are numerous choices. Some will buy a plot in a pet cemetery, although the prices are quite high in Japan where land is a very scarce commodity. Others will pay for "shelf-space " in a special memorial hall where the ashes can be kept permanently. And of course there is the option of bringing the ashes home. Many owners do opt to "bring home" their animals, where they are given a special place to reside, where the owners can see and cherish the good memories.

Funerary services are now an integral part of the pet industry in this country and certainly a growing business.

Sad.... but true.