We lived in Japan for 7 years and learned of many bad things that go on there with the pets.
One day I walked past a pet shop and just had to go in and see the babies. I noticed one tiny Maltese hiding in the back corner of his cage. I'm not usually one to purchase from a pet shop but my heart just sank for this little one the second I saw him. Iasked to hold him and the instant I picked him up he just sank into my neck as if with a sigh of relief. I could hear his raspy breath and knew he was sick. I figured he had kennel cough. I could not bear to put him back in the cage and called my husband. I told him that something inside me just would not let me leave him. My hubby brought the money and Ty came home with us. This was on a friday. I couldn't get him into the vet until Monday but had him there first thing Monday morning. He was tiny weighing about 8 oz and was supposed to be 8 weeks old but the vet said no way he was that old he figured more like 5 weeks. Before we left that day I was told that my new baby had a congenital heart defect and that his heart was huge. Vet said we will put him on meds but my best guess for him would be about a week.
I was so upset. I called a Japanese friend who called the shop owner and explained to him what was going on. He told her to have me bring the dog back and he would give me a new one. Said he couldn't give me the one until Wednesday though as he goes to "market" to pick up dogs on Tuesdays. I told her to ask him what he would do with him. He told her he would kill the dog, he didn't have time or money to take care of a sick dog. I said "NO WAY!" I will keep him until he goes so he can be loved until then.
He died what must have been a very painful death almost exactly a week later in my kitchen while I was giving him his meds and my children were eating breakfast and getting ready for school.
I found out that the puupy mills all take thier puppies and kittens to the market once a week and sell them dirt cheap to all the pet shops. Most way before they even 6 weeks old. You know gotta get them sold while they are still small.
Puppies that become sick or grow too big to sell are gassed.
They also have something called drop boxes in some parts of Japan still. These are boxes on the side of the street where you can drop your pet when you no longer want them. The boxes are emptied once or twice a week and the pets inside are gassed or drowned. I never actually saw one myself while I was there just read about them. They are not in the larger cities but more in the smaller areas. Hopefully they have done away with them altogether now.
All that being said, all the Japanese people that I saw eith pets really loved them and took care of them well. Just like thier children. Altjough you always have some who leave them outside and what not and there was no different than here in that respect.
Kim