What pet would you like to have?

In terms of my own preferences, this is not such an interesting question.  I like both cats and dogs, but I prefer the former. Cats are fairly low maintenance (they mind their own business) and are cute and funny most of the time. It is very comforting to have one sleep on your lap, or purr while you are stroking it.  Dogs are great too, but you have to take them for a walk everyday and I am just not drawn to them in the same way I am to cats.

There is another problem with dogs.  They do a lot of nasty poo!   I live in a very quiet part of Nagoya where a lot of old (and young) people have dogs which they walk along the canal near my house every morning. Of course they do their best to clear up the mess, but it is very clear to me that the road has become stained and dirty over the years.  I also have a more serious story about this issue.

When I was living in Gifu, it was my custom to go to Starbucks near my house for a nice, comfortable Sunday morning read. My regular chair overlooked the surrounding grassy areas and early in the morning local residents brought their dogs here to go to the toilet. I am sorry to say I thought this behaviour was selfish, disgusting and dangerous. Why do I say dangerous? Well, as the day wore on young people would bring their children to play on the same grass.  It seems that a lot of people are not aware of the fact that dog poo is a highly dangerous poison that can cause serious illness or kill young children. It also may contain a parasite which blinds children. In America, dog poo has the same ‘poison ranking’ as dangerous industrial chemicals.  In fact, I complained to the facility which contained the Starbucks and they had an emergency meeting about it after I showed them data in Japanese from the Internet about how dangerous dog poo is.  Two weeks later I asked them what they were going to do about it.  Their answer:

‘Well, we had a meeting.  I’m afraid there is nothing we can do!’

Really?  How about warning signs at a minimum?

Shame on you!!!!

Have a great day,

Buri