Wish we had this in Malaysia
Dear fellow friends,
I like the attitude in Japan where you wouldn’t put an end to a family member’s life just because you were inconvenienced would you? Same for your pets.
I like the 24 hour clinics for pets they have with state of the art equipment. I wish we had this here in Malaysia so much.
It is heartening to read this about Japan. Japan is just so advanced in so many fields.
Tsem Rinpoche
Japan’s ageing pets spark elderly care boom
By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 6/15/2011
Japan’s ageing pets spark elderly care boom
Pets are said to be like their owners, and in fast-ageing Japan a generation of greying pooches and tabbies has sparked a boom in elderly care for the four-legged friends.
Better pet food and veterinary services have allowed dogs and cats to live longer, spawning an industry that ranges from animal diapers and walking aids to 24-hour emergency care and research into pet tissue-engineering.
The market is huge. Japanese keep 22 million dogs and cats, according to the latest data from the Japan Pet Food Association — outnumbering children aged under 15 by about 30 percent.
Japan’s population has been declining since 2007 and the country is greying, with one of the world’s lowest birth rates and highest life expectancies. Children under 15 now make up just 13 percent of the population while almost one quarter of Japanese are 65 or older, according to recent demographic data.
Japan’s pet business, including retail sales of the animals themselves and food and other products, is worth about 1.37 trillion yen (17 billion dollars) a year, according to the Yano Research Institute.
Many owners say they want to take care of their beloved pets until the very end rather than opt for euthanasia.
“Do you put an end to a family member’s life because you are inconvenienced?” asked Michiko Ozawa, 67, recounting how she nursed her dog, a mongrel named Shiro, as he became senile and finally died.
After more than a decade together, she opted against having 17-year-old Shiro put down, even though he had lost his vision and started walking in circles and dropping onto his backside rather than walk.
“It seems obvious to me that we would let his life run its course,” she said.
In the end, “as his body gradually became stiff and cold, his right ear flapped as if he were waving ‘bye-bye’… It was his ‘sayonara’.”
To help animals live out their twilight years in comfort, companies have come up with new product lines, including Osaka-based home builder Yamahisa Co. which diversified five years ago into elderly pet products.
“We realised that there is demand for goods to take care of elderly dogs because they are considered members of the family,” Yuko Kushibe, a marketing official at Yamahisa, told AFP.
The greying of Japan’s pets became apparent in recent years as large dogs, such as Siberian huskies and golden retrievers which became fashionable in Japan some 20 years ago, started to grow old, she said.
“Taking care of bedridden large dogs requires a lot of physical strength on the part of the owners,” Kushibe said.
To help them, the company offers a cart, a sling, diapers and a mattress with handles to turn a dog’s body and prevent bed sores, as well as hip supports that help a dog stand up and walk.
Electronics maker Fujitsu Ltd. meanwhile has teamed up with veterinarians to pave the way for round-the-clock medical care for pets.
Trial services started at a Tokyo animal clinic recently, offering night-time emergency treatment for dogs in state-of-the-art facilities that boast X-ray, CT and MRI scan and ultrasound technology.
Test results and treatment data can be sent via a shared computer network to the dog’s vet for follow-up care the next day.
A common problem with elderly cats — kidney failure — is the subject of a cutting-edge study at at the Jikei University School of Medicine, where researchers are trying to grow new cat kidneys in pig embryos.
Takashi Yokoo, a head of research at the school, said more than 30 percent of cats are estimated to die from kidney problems which commonly cause anaemia, a shortage of healthy red blood cells.
Yokoo said he succeeded in cultivating tiny kidneys in pig embryos by injecting stem cells harvested from cats’ bone marrow.
His team has implanted the “neo-kidneys” into a fat membrane hanging from the cat’s stomach, where they produce a crucial blood-forming hormone.
He said he had tied up with a Tokyo start-up company and hopes to apply the technique to real pets in two years. The procedure with surgery would cost some 50,000 yen (620 dollars), Yokoo said.
The technique was originally intended to help humans, but he believes he has tapped into a market that will only grow.
“Giving pets better health or enabling them to live longer as family members will be explored as pet regenerative medicine in the future,” he said.
Source: http://news.malaysia.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4938639
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Dogs or cats provide us with a sense of emotional wellbeing. They give us unconditional love, which is why they’re also great company and comfort for people who live alone. Having one companion make us happier and healthier. It is important to take care and protect them from harm. But when the owner passed away or old , it best to have a home or shelter for them till their passing. It would be wonderful to have such a place 24 hour clinics for pets like those in Japan. In Japan ,Non-profit organizations are working tirelessly to protect animals and to find new homes for those left by their passing owners. With these homes at least those cats or dogs have a home , love and taking care of. Wish we had this here in Malaysia too.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
Dogs are great companions and man best friend. It would be wonderful if Malaysia can be like Japan having all the facilities meant for animals like dogs or cat when they get older. Japan is an advance country , the way they treated dogs are really amazing. Care free environment for them and giving pets better health or enabling them to live longer as one of us as a family. With retirement homes and dedicated hospice care centres, dogs can live in comfort. Yes, I agree with Rinpoche if we have the 24 hour clinics for pets they have with state of the art equipment would be great!😀👍👍🙏💖
Aging is a part of living for us as well for our animals. Pets are said to be like their owners, and in fast-aging Japan there have a special place to help animals live out their lives in comfort, naturally and in peace. Dogs are great companions and man best friend. It would be wonderful if Malaysia can be like Japan having all the facilities meant for animals like dogs or cat when they get older. Japan is an advance country , the way they treated dogs are really amazing. Care free environment for them and giving pets better health or enabling them to live longer as one of us as a family. With retirement homes and dedicated hospice care centres, dogs can live in comfort.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
Beautiful words of the Dalai Lama to follow when he said, “Today more than ever, life must be characterised by a sense of universal responsibility, perhaps in line not only nation to nation, and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.” The greying of Japan’s pets and animals has become apparent in the recent years, and to help them live out their twilight years. Electronic maker, Fujutsui Ltd. has teamed up with vetinerians Yamahisa Co., to pave the way for a round the clock medical care for pets. Starting with dogs they have introduced at Tokyo animal clinic recently, offers of night time emergency treatment for dogs in state-of-the art facilities that boost X-ray CT and MRI scans and ultra sound technology. Whereas, Jikei U school of medicine researched to grow cats’ kidneys, said to be caused through anaemia and a shortage of red blood cells. As in the kind hearted feelings of Takashi Yokoo, Head of Research at Jikei U who said, “Giving pets better health or enabling them to live longer as family members will be explored as pets regenerative medicine in future.” What a compassionate motivational practice to adopt!
Did you catch this line?
“…a cutting-edge study at at the Jikei University School of Medicine, where researchers are trying to grow new cat kidneys in pig embryos.”
Meanwhile, on Parallel Earth, researchers are trying to grow pig kidneys in cat embryos!
i like pats too..
I like the cat..
He is very cute
There is a national symbol of Japan, the dog breed Akita.
Chu-ken Hachiko (lit. the faithful dog Hachiko) was born in Akita in 1923 and was first brought to Tokyo in 1924. He and his owner, Mr. Eisaburo Uyeno, were inseparable friends right from the start. Each day “Hachi” would accompany Eisaburo, a professor at the Imperial University, to the train station when he left for work. Upon returning, the professor would find the dog patiently waiting, tail wagging. This happy routine continued until one fateful day in 1925, when the professor was taken ill on the job and unfortunately died before he could return home.
Despite the fact that Hachiko was less than two years old at the time, the bond between dog and owner was strong. Hachiko continued to wait each day at Shibuya station for a friend who was never coming back. At times, he wouldn’t return home for days at a stretch.
The Akita became a familiar sight to commuters as he kept his vigil for over ten years. On March 8, 1935, Hachiko finally went to meet his master. He died on the very same spot he last saw his friend alive.
Hachiko may be gone but he will never be forgotten. The story behind the statue is one that has endured and continually warms the hearts of locals and tourists alike.
Dear Laurentiu,
Thanks for your comments. Please take a look here. I’ve already blogged about Hachiko. It is very touching. http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/film-tv-music/hachiko-a-lesson-in-eternal-friendship-loyalty.html
TR
Thank you for the link. I’ll watch the movie.
Dear Rinpoche
Thank you so much for sharing all theses posts and your wisdom with us !
I didn’t know where to leave a message for you, since there isn’t a subscribe button on your blog, but I think this video I found on youtube might interest you and everybody else in this blog. I find it very inspirational ! I hope everybody will enjoy it and find in it the motivation to practice !
Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_YOG3jMlV4
May all sentient beings be free from suffering.
Gilles
Dear Rinpoche,
Is so true that a lot of people love to be comfortable and like avoid doing a lot of work. Taking care of elderly is a lot of work and people just like to get out of the work and being selfish and lazy.
A lot of people just treat human preciously but not animals. They are lives too.
I do hope through the blog we will learn more and become a better person and not to get out responsible and work that we should do.
Thank you so much for the article.
Any Loke
Animals like dogs are great companions. They are very loyal to their master. If they have been keeping us happy during rainy days,all the more we should do to take care of them when they are old and get sick. But I must admit that there are alot of people out there who take up a pet just for the sake of entertaining themselves or the kids… and when the animals are old and sick, causing trouble and inconvenient them, many would either leave them somewhere or put them to sleep at the vet.
I used to have two puppies when I was a kid, and they both died of illnesses due to old age at home. Now when I think back, I wish I could have done more to relieve their sufferings at that time.
Japan is a nation leading in many ways…even in animals care. I also hope here in Malaysia, animal activists would come up with more ideas to take care of animals especially the aging ones.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article with all of us here.
Margaret
I wanted to add something else to my earlier post. Extending our pets lives is very rewarding,but as long as the animal does not suffer. Certain procedures may sustain the animal’s life for some time but the quality of life of the animal will be very poor and in many istances the animal will suffer a great deal. Sometimes,our pet is ready to leave and pass over the rainbow bridge,but we humans like to hold on to them for a long,long time even if that means having our pet suffering next to us. As a rule of caution,always examine your pets quality of life and make sure he or she is not suffering!! Blessings to all the animals,especially those suffering!!
Dear Rinpoche,this is such a wonderful posting!! I wish this were true for other countries in Asia especially China as there is a lot of cruelty with dogs and cats in the fur/meat trade.
I know Japanese are very wonderful with their dogs and cats. I just love the movie Hachiko (especially the original one).I always cry when I watch it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope more and more people change their attitude about animals and instill more compassion in their hearts.
I’d like to take a second to wish you blessings to a fast recovery.Hopefully you won’t have to take so many medicines for the reflux.
Kind Regards!!
Dear Rinpoche
Thank you for sharing this amazing article. I am really touched that people in Japan are so caring about their pets. In Malaysia, i know many people who don’t even care for their family members like the Japanese do about their pets.
Our dog Jannic is getting old now.. she is incontinent, has arthritis and a heart murmur. Fortunately we have blessed water to give her. The vet is also giving her pain killers which reminded me that dogs can’t even tell us when they are in pain.
We should care for all animals when we can simply because they are all sentient beings. I do hope that Malaysia will develop more care for animals in the future.
Thank you again for this insightful article.
love,
Sharon
Many pet owners justify their decisions in putting their old, sickly pets to sleep as “compassion” or “can’t bear to see the poor thing suffer”.
Michiko Ozawa asked a very poignant question – ” Do you put an end to a family member’s life because you are inconvenienced?” If we don’t,then why apply double standards when it comes to our good,loyal pets?
This is an area that Japan is ahead of many advanced countries and set a good example for the rest of the pet loving people.
Dear Rinpoche,
So sorry for this very late thank you note. Thank you so very much for visiting the farm and blessing the dogs with prayers, food and many many chewy gifts. The dogs are very happy with them and I am very grateful that you could take time off your busy schedule. Your love and contribution to the dogs has made a great impact. Your continuation of help with food for a year has really relieved my burden. I wish for KAS to benefit more animals like they have benefitted mine and that the good works will grow and be successful. You are always welcome to visit the farm.
I did not know where is a better place to show my appreciation, so I was recommended to post it in your blog. Thank you again.
Warmest Regards,
Karin Lee
Dear Rinpoche,
Thanks for sharing this wonderful article. It is so nice to know that there are people treating the animal just as precious as human lives.
The advancement of technology does not focus ONLY to human but it’s extended to assist/benefit the lovely animals too.
I like the mentality of Japanese people how they treat the animals just like one of the family members. With this compassionate mind and combine with their technology (which we know Japan is so creative & innovative with their creation) make the whole thing much easier & convenient to take care.
This is really a great thing to know and to follow the foot step.
Thank you Rinpoche again.
Nicholas
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this lovely article about care of aging four-legged beings.
I notice that the owners of these aging pets are themselves aging. Perhaps it’s a ‘relational’ feeling of empathy (hence compassion) that they have for their pets.
I like it that they even have cutting-edge research to address problems of diseases that accompany the aging of animals; and they have come up with a few solutions already.
Also the new focus of industry to produce things and services to relieve and help these aging four-legged beings is being sparked off by the demand for these products from the caring owners of these pets.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if people every where else in the world, including in this country, start caring for these furry beings right through old age and ensuring that they die naturally?
Also wouldn’t it be lovely if supply of products everywhere is being dictated by demand from people who are all caring of other beings and of their environment?