Pets are big business in Japan. Pet shops can command six-figure fees for pedigree puppies and kittens, and goods and services for the pampered pooch or pussycat abound. Peeking into a fashionable baby carriage in the streets of Tokyo, you are just as likely to encounter a tiny beribboned dog as a human infant.
While some animals are living the life of Riley, others lead a miserable existence on the margins of society. Female animals turn out litter after litter at "puppy mills" to supply pet shops, while their progeny are disposed of when they outlive their sell-by date, simply growing too old to be considered "cute."
Some animals — even those sought-after pedigree breeds — end up homeless when their owners grow too old to care for them, or as in the case in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, owners have to move and leave their pets behind. The pound is usually the last stop for such animals. While some efforts are made to re-home, the majority of the unfortunate cats and dogs arriving at the pound are put to death by carbon dioxide gas.