Living With Dogs in Japan

Quincy B. Fox posted a wonderful article titled, "All in the Family: Animal Companionship." First, I wonder how many people younger than me are even aware of the old sitcom, All in the Family? I loved that show, and now that I'm older (and hopefully wiser), the themes from that sitcom were pretty amazing for that era.

Back to Quincy's article, she mentioned some serious points about living in Japan with a pet, in particular with a dog. In my case, that would be two dogs!

Border Collie

October 15, 2014

I totally agree that when it comes to finding a dog in Japan, that going with a direct rescue, a rescue organization, or through the animal shelter are the best options for you and the dog (or cat)! Dale, my border collie (two-year old female) and Mary, my miniature pinscher (seven-year old female), are both direct-rescue dogs. Both of the previous owners couldn't meet the demands of a pet while maintaining their professional and social lives. Fortunately, I don't have much of a social life, and my work schedule allows me to spend more time with my dogs than their previous owners were able to. So, Dale and Mary were a perfect fit for my family.

Miniature Pinscher

October 15, 2014

Quincy took the words right out of my mouth, "He planted sloppy doggy kisses all over my face. I hugged him and he kept twisting around to lick and cuddle me. Perhaps he was just starved for attention, but perhaps he somehow knew he was meeting his forever family." Of course, my pronouns would have been "her" and "she." And as for Mary, her tail has been docked, so you tend to get a lot of high-pitched squeals instead! 

Quincy is right when she states that the majority of rental apartments and houses have a strict no-pet policy. In those instances where a pet like a cat or dog is allowed, there are limitations on the size and breed. If I only had Mary, then my options for finding a new apartment would have been drastically better. But two dogs? That was a major obstacle to overcome. Then, once we found an apartment that would allow two dogs, we were refused because one dog was a medium-sized dog (Dale). 

After about 6 weeks of searching, we finally found a place in a semi-rural area, close to the train station, lots of open space for the dogs (especially Dale), and still allowed me to commute to work in Shin-Yokohama within less than 90 minutes.

So, the point is "Yes," it is hard to find a pet-friendly rental unit in Japan. Conversely, it is NOT impossible -- and my personal experience is a testament to that!

Most folks in my neighborhood don't have two dogs, let alone a medium-sized dog. I tend to see smaller, toy breeds, especially for folks living in apartment buildings. Home owners in my neighborhood tend to have a Japanese breed, but they keep them outside.

Both Dale and Mary are kept indoors, and though we had a bit of a challenge training them to keep the noise down when the mailman visits, or when neighbors walk by our unit, it was not impossible to overcome without some love and patience.

What folks like me need most in Japan is help in finding a place that will even consider allowing tenants to have a pet in the first place. The real estate agency where I work, Rent Life, can help you find that place where you or your family can enjoy accommodations with your "animal companion," or in my case, with my "two girls"!

Give us a call or send me an email and we can help you out. And don't forget to read Quincy's full post over at GaijinPot. If you're an animal lover like me, you just might need to break out a box of Kleenex, but in a happy way!

All in the Family: Animal Companionship by Quincy B. Fox

http://blog.gaijinpot.com/family-animal-companionship/

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