Essay

Paws for thought

By Matt Wilce

The other day at lunch, I got served by a dog — to use a hip-hop term. I don't mean the waiter was a mutt, more that the neighboring canine came out top dog in the service stakes. While I was left waiting for my order to be taken, maybe even get a glass of water, the wan-chan at the next table had staff at its beck and call. A dog bowl appeared swiftly, mere moments after the Yorkshire terrier arrived. I had to wait more than 10 minutes to get my glass of water and order despite staring at the staff, trying in vain to make eye contact.

The bad service came as a shock in a city where attentive staff are generally the norm, but equally surprising was to see how pervasive the doggy boom has become. When I first lived here back in the early '90s, I very rarely saw anyone with a dog, let alone a dog getting served in a restaurant. These days you can't move without running into someone with a puchi-petto tucked under their arm, in a Louis Vuitton bag, or in this case a pushchair.

The anthropomorphism of pets is not a new phenomenon, but recently Japan has taken things to the extreme. We've all seen the pooches in the park strutting around like they are on a catwalk — or should that be "dogwalk" — models in designer threads, sunglasses and even canine kimono, but when dogs have to be carried everywhere in a bag or wheeled around, I think it's gone too far. On one occasion I saw a rather disgruntled couple wonder why they couldn't bring their portable pet into a kaiten-zushi joint. Paris Hilton's pampered pooch has a lot to answer for as a role model.

Dogs are not babies — they are animals. For thousands of years they lived out in the wild without the benefit of a denim jacket or Ray Bans to protect their eyes from the sun. They actually managed to walk and run using their legs, moving around without the aid of an expensive bag or wheels or a human to carry or push them.

Treating an animal like a human can even border on the cruel. Think of the poor pet with a full coat of fur, forced into some cute outfit on a hot summer day. Dogs don't sweat through their skin, so don't you think dressing them up might be a bit uncomfortable?

By the end of lunch, and a rant to my dining companion, I came to two conclusions. Firstly, we'll never eat at the Hawaiian cafe in Shimokitazawa again. And that these days in Tokyo, it really is a dog's life.

Shukan ST: June 20, 2008

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