Elderly Pets Pampered by Doting Owners
Japundit’s alexpappas cannot understand it: “All my friends with pets in Japan have completely lost their minds I swear it! Pictures of the animal on their cell phone desktop, inside their car, paying top dollar for dog coats and now, as the photo shows, massages seem to be all the rage!”
The Tokyo-based Boston Terrier is receiving a massage but it doesn’t end there. A recent survey reveals that Japan’s dogs and cats are getting older thanks to advances in veterinary medicine and the care which many people lavish on their four-legged friends.
According to the Associated Press, “The boom in pet ownership in Japan has led to a new phenomenon: legions of elderly animals that doting masters pamper with fortified food and vitamins, aromatherapy and even acupuncture.” Longevity for cats in Japan almost doubled between 1991 and 2003, from 5.1 years to 9.9 years. Dog longevity surged from 8.6 years to 11.9 years.
Hideki Hayashidani, an assistant professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, who carried out the longevity study, said “Japanese attitudes toward pets have changed radically. Owners dote over them like children. That means fewer pups and kittens die from infections, while cancer and heart disease cases have hit the roof. And owners will pay anything to keep their pets alive longer.”
In a sign of the nation’s growing obsession with animal companions, industry figures show Japanese families now own over 23 million pet dogs and cats, exceeding the number of Japanese children under 15, which hit a new low of 17.46 million in 2006.
Bizarre as we (and the average farmer who won’t even countenance “cats in the house”) may find all this, the phenomenon is not likely restricted to Japan or to remain that way long. But it’s actually very good news for those whose businesses involve pet services. Which is why we have been briefly profiling those low-cost startup pet businesses the past few days!
Source: alexpappas. “Getting Old With Your ‘Other’ Loved One,” Japundit 02/06/07.
Related Post: “Dog Daycare, Pet Industry Booming,” EBT Blog 02/23/07.
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August 15th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
[…] It’s true that the Japanese are some of the biggest pet pamperers in the world. There are lots of examples, including dog popsicles, Pet Sweat, doggie foot Jacuzzis, various high-tech gadgets, stress test patches, aromatherapy and acupuncture for the elderly, and of course the Japan Dog Yoga Association. So it’s hardly surprising (but still is) that they want to drink too. Probably modeled along the lines of Kidsbeer (”the Popeye Cigarettes of children’s drinks”) Tokyo Times says that 9 out of 10 dogs prefer Happy Lager Pet Drink. There are many implications, of course, but as Scrooge remarked in A Christmas Carol: “I’ll retire to Bedlam…” Share This […]