Masataka Endo has spent his fair share of the past two decades walking an average of 30 kilometers a day in search of missing animals.
In a typical day, the 41-year-old will talk to a wide range of people in the neighborhood where the animal was last seen, post flyers advertising its disappearance and, from time to time, even get down on all fours to peer into undergrowth that offers missing animals the perfect cover to remain hidden.
Endo is a pet detective but, unlike the fictional character played by Jim Carrey in the 1994 film "Ace Ventura," his work is no laughing matter.