So Cute, But Kinda Wrong
Last Saturday, I tried something I'm not sure my ethics fall in line with; I rented a dog. The craze in Japan to dress pets up has expanded to an industry of hiring them for an hour or so. I understand that apartment size and lack of greenery makes owning a dog in Tokyo difficult, but to rent them out seems excessive.
Still, in the name of honest reporting, and seeing a really really cute dog, I went for it. The two hotspots are Odaiba, of course, and bizarrely my home station which lacks as much grass and parks as any of the other Yamanote stops. Deciding a beach was the more sensible option, Keiko and I headed to Odaiba.
Puppy the World has accessories, grooming facilities, a pet-friendly cafe, and dogs to hire. We went for a Japanese Shiba, named Pochy! Shiba come in two varieties, fox style or raccoon-dog, Pochy being the former. He was adorable but not particularly interested in us. I guess if he's rented out a couple of times a day, he learnt quickly not to care about the customers.
My sentiment that at worst the dog gets an hour walk in the fresh hour held up as he was happy to run along the front but was also interested in pulling us back to the shop. However, once we sat down with him and he became accustomed to us, he was open for some petting.
For a couple of quid, it's not a bad way to give a bit of TLC to a dog who probably hasn't had the best life, but it's nothing like owning one. I'm still unsure whether renting dogs is the most moral pursuit, but it was fun for a one-off.
2 comments:
I'm not entirely sure about the ethics either, but on the other hand, the dog got a walk and some tlc as you said and from the pictures looks in good nick. This afternoon I visited another dog refuge which we had heard about and the dogs there were definitely not in as good condition. So it's all relative I guess and if the dogs are not mistreated in any way, is it wrong?
Mum xxx
A cat would not let itself be rented out. Typical of dogs!
Michael
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