# Japanese Legislation Gives New Meaning To “Till Death Do Us Part”



## Administrator (Nov 19, 2012)

*It’s sad, but happens frequently – people dump older dogs at shelters because they’re not puppies anymore. Let’s follow Japan’s lead and mandate care for the lifetime of dogs.
*

At some point in our lifetime many of us will have cared for an aging pet that is no longer able to fetch a stick, bound up the stairs or simply climb up onto the sofa to snuggle beside us. This isn’t a sad time; it’s a thoughtful time that allows us to at long last give back to someone who has brought years of joy to our life.
When our Jake was winding down we ensured someone was always on hand to help him up the family room stairs and that every smooth surfaced floor in the house had “stepping stone” mats that he could use to cross the room without wiping out. These are the little things you do when you love an aging pet and apparently pet owners in Japan not only agree but have taken it to the next level.

Read the full article here at Petguide.com.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

since i live in Japan i swallowed the hook and read the article

not much beef in the burger

you do not need to legislate common sense and can't do it anyway

but here is some trivial facts in the real world here 

1. many vets here will not euthanize. on the surface, i think this is more of a bad thing than a good thing. we also have a lot of Americans living here and many local Ja vets have told me they think Americans are too quick to decide to give their dog or cat the needle
2. the article does not say where this 1000 dollar a month "rest home" is for senior dogs, but i guarantee the cost is not 1000 dollars since we don't use dollars here ... there is a TV show about all things "trendy" in the Ja dog world that i do watch, but never heard of this rest home
- but it is basic Ja culture to care for the aged so i'm not surprised it carries over to dogs in many cases
3. i have run across some dogs here who have lived pretty long. in the last 3-4 years i saw a 19 year old shiba mix and a 21 year old akita
4. there are no laws prohibiting what i would consider animal cruelty here. you can beat your dog to death with a hammer if you want to and will violate no law. with that said, i don't know anyone has has done that 
5. japan requires annual rabies vax and does NOT allow any live vax; only killed. Ja is rabies free and any dog entering has to have had at least 2 vax and a titer read by an USDA approved facility, which pretty much eliminates importing a pup
6. it is still hard in some places for guide dogs to gain access to places the law says they are allowed to enter :-( 
... and no such thing as "service" dogs (therapy/assistance/emotional support, etc) on the books here either

none of this may be interesting, but in my opinion the article was even less interesting //lol//


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

In my many yrs with many dogs I've made the mistake of keeping one or two of them to long for nothing more then sentiment. 

I believe that would be more common the getting rid of them because they have become an inconvenience. That I can't imagine for me.


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