There is a pet store down the street from our apartment. Every time we walk past, my son begs to go in to look at the cats and dogs. Entering this shop is pretty surreal to me, as I can't remember the last pet store I saw in the US with cats and dogs (unless it was an adopt a pet day). The store is pretty stark, as the focus is on the 6 open-air Plexiglas crates at the front and the 8 behind-glass cages at the back. There are also 2 really tall enclosures for kittens with cat trees in them. The cats are all super fluffy and the dogs are stinking adorable on multiple levels. All of the animals (I would guess) are less than 6 months old. My son oohs and ahhs at them and then spends the rest of the day (or week) begging for a dog.
After a visit or two, I started noticing and converting the prices of these cats and dogs. The average price tag seems to be ¥500,000 to ¥850,000 (according to today's exchange rate $4,436 - $7,542). I guess you REALLY need to want a pet here! My husband pointed out we live in a really nice area, with sky high rents and humungous salaries. Emphasizing his point, I have seen some very fancy cars around here. Who knew car doors that opened up (instead of out) was still a thing? Anyway, I have noticed that all the dogs are miniatures. I would guess the crazy breeding tactics and the uniqueness have something to do with the price.
I must say that I've seen a lot of dogs around here and they seem to be really pampered. Designer clothes, top of the line strollers, and tons of dogs being carried in Louis Vuitton bags are common sights. I've even seen a few dogs walking on leashes. There are at least 3 posh pet groomers within a single block radius. These dogs (and cats) are living the life of luxury.
One day we went in and I noticed they had some "Premium" pets. These little babies came at an even steeper price tag of ¥1,000,000 for the puppy ($8,873, pictured above) and ¥1,200,000 for the kitten ($10,647, the gray one in the photo above). The puppy is a mini-Shiba. The regular "version" is a VERY popular dog in Japan, so the designer version would be very desirable to many people here. I have no idea about the kitten.
Today, I relented and we went again. There was a new puppy - a teacup poodle. Probably the cutest little bundle of joy ever created. And it could have been mine for the bargain price of ¥2,000,000. That is not a typo. And either is the dollar amount... $17,746. Now, I haven't been shopping for a designer pet in quite some time, but really???
A while ago we were wandering around and we passed an exotic pet shop. I would guess that these are illegal in the US. We stopped in our tracks when we saw the owl sitting in the window and were shocked to see that it was for sale! Curiosity got the best of me and we went in. There were several animals there that just broke my heart as they are not domesticated animals and shouldn't be in a cage: a tiny squirrel monkey, several owls, a toucan, and more. I was so shocked and saddened I couldn't even take photos. I felt so conflicted being there. I visit a lot of zoos and happily support those that work hard to create wonderful environments for those animals that have been born in captivity and so forth, but this just left me speechless.
I'm not meaning to get "political" on here. It is just something that is drastically different in Japan that I think a lot of people don't really know about. I'll be curious to see if the current pet shop model goes away in the future as it has in the US.
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