Health officials find 164 dogs crammed into tiny house

Job well done by the finest public health officials. After all, it only took them seven years to gain access to the house.

I can only say this about my neighborhood: most owners don't take their dogs for walks, dogs only know the inside of their home and yard, aside from immediate family dogs have little contact with strangers, very few dogs receive training.

Result: dogs experience little socialization. they're only comfortable with their owners, they're frustrated and view strangers as threats.

Taking a dog for a walk is critical. It gives them a sense of their surroundings, a chance to explore and get to know places and people, a chance to relieve themselves, gives them a lot of pleasure.

Not taking a dog for walk is abuse.

Public health officials first visited the house seven years ago after getting complaints from neighbors about the noise and bad smell but the owner refused to let officials investigate at that time.

Has anyone been fired, disciplined, had their bonus/pension docked for fraudulently masquerading as a public servant?

How awful. I worked on a hoarding case out in Gunma with 30+ shiba mix dogs in a house about that big. But they at least had a small garden to go out in.

The city didn't have the power to take the dogs, or fine the owner (she was bonkers, not poor), do something about the foot and a half of rancid water and feces, or even haul away the floor to ceiling garbage bags in the house. They could only ask her nicely to try to take better care of them. She only agreed to fix the females because the rescue group paid for it. Two females passed anyway soon due to poor care after surgery. A terrible situation all around.

If I were a dog I wouldn’t want to live in Japan. Well any animal for that matter

There aren’t animal

welfare laws in Japan as there are in more developed societies-the lazy Diet members need to change this...

Homo sapiens are the worst species on this planet.

I can’t even imagine the smell. I can’t even stand the smell of my (1) cat’s litter box if I forget to clean it for even a day. Disgusting, cruel and idiotic

Public health officials first visited the house seven years ago after getting complaints from neighbors about the noise and bad smell but the owner refused to let officials investigate at that time.

So the public health officials gave up and let things be, kind of like police and child welfare workers seem to do in this country.

exactly.

Job well done by the finest public health officials. After all, it only took them seven years to gain access to the house.

exactly. But you know, things move slowly in Japan...

Thats disgraceful that, the animal abuse went on for so many year's.

Please donate to dobutsukikin, to support their sterling work with these dogs - neutering and spaying them, tending to their health issues, and finding them foster care and new homes.

https://www.doubutukikin.or.jp/

Public health officials first visited the house seven years ago after getting complaints from neighbors about the noise and bad smell but the owner refused to let officials investigate at that time.

If they had been growing prohibited herbal products in their house there would not have been such a delay in investigation. Go figure.

The three people living in the house said they could not afford to spay and neuter the dogs, so they kept getting more of them.

That's like saying I can't afford to buy food, so I'll spend my last 1000 yen on a pair of pants.

why on earth wasn't something done 7 years ago? So, these people are not going to be punished then?

We should feel ashamed of animal hoarding and reduce the number of slaughter.

The number of slaughter of dogs and cats per year;

USA: 2,700K (2013)

Japan: 28K (2019)

mmm

I'm not a PETA freak, I eat meat but this is cruelty and sickening. There's no excusing or defending actions like this on animals - or people.

That’s disgraceful, 7 years before anything further was done??

Does Japan have an RSPCA or equivalent? Some govt body to look after animal welfare?

Damned unfair of everyone to start blaming the public health officials.

Typical armchair warrior reactions from ignorant readers who have no clue how the real world works.

How do you expect them to act when they are given no powers to force entry and inspection?

How do you expect them to escalate to police when there are no concrete laws on suspected animal cruelty by private owners which the police can act on?

Blame the system. Blame the typical unenforceable 'guidelines'. Don't blame the poor sod trying to do his job without any powers to do so.

SEVEN years without doing anything.

"Sagami said the family has agreed to give up the dogs and his group would look for foster homes for them after they got medical care."

Yeah...Sure...Considering how hard it is to adopt a dog here and how reluctant people are to adopt instead of buying a cute little puppy from one of these pet stores we see everywhere, that's more likely 164 dogs going for the gaz chamber.

@Gobshite and Armel MALEJACQ

There is animal welfare, especially locally and at grassroots levels. If you are opposed to euthanizing animals, and wish to help these and other animals, please donate towards their care at

https://www.doubutukikin.or.jp/

@Yubaru

"If I were a dog I wouldn’t want to live in Japan. Well any animal for that matter"

Stories like this are disturbing to say the least, but to lumping all of us pet owners into the same group is just as disturbing if not more!

My family and I take VERY good care of our furry family member and I take SERIOUS offense at your inference here!

Not claiming this is you, but, Japan has other serious issues when it comes to animal welfare, than just animal hoarding like this case or the lack of power when it comes to jurisdiction by the officials. The numerous pet shops with way too young puppies shoved in the display boxes with nowhere to hide, dressing your pets in unnecessary clothes (and treating them like toys in general), placing your healthy and capable dogs to prams etc, not taking your dogs for proper walks, letting your dogs pee only on a pee pad indoors rather than during their proper walks, keeping your dogs in cages whilst they're indoors, etc is not taking good care of the pets either. All of these habits I've had to witness numerous and numerous times in Japan, and none of them are ok.

Agree with @Vinke

Most dogs in cities in Japan live their lives NEVER being let of the leash on walks. Obviously that's because their owners follow the rules, and their aren't enough open places and parks to allow for dogs to run free. But that alone should be enough of a reason NOT to keep dogs here. The costumes, the prams, the costs, it's all slightly deranged and so very sad.

Are you serious???!!!

there is no punishment!?

And 7 years? What if it was kids inside?

This is appalling, really!!!!

Mental Health issues, not only the dog hoarders ......................those at city hall too.

Glad they were rescued, but they will be dead in days. There is very little animal welfare here.

I said very little, compared to my home country. Too many stupid people here pay extortionate amounts of money for pets because "kawaii".

Thank you for the link, I hope people will take note

There is animal welfare, especially locally and at grassroots levels. If you are opposed to euthanizing animals, and wish to help these and other animals, please donate towards their care at

Despite the awful and crowded conditions how much do you want to bet those sweet creatures all loved their owner. Dogs are like that, the most loving and forgiving creatures imaginable. I sincerely hope they all find a loving forever home that will treat them like four legged kings and queens.

I would hate to be down wind of this house!! it begs the question how did they provide food for all of them, this is assuming they actually fed them all. and all of that poop and wee! how did they, or didn't they dispose of it. This cruelty should have been stopped years ago.

 that's more likely 164 dogs going for the gaz chamber.

Absolutely not. Dobuutsukikin is dedicated to protecting the lives of animals which have been abandoned or are otherwise ignored by the authorities, like street cats. They would only euthanize a very sick, suffering, and highly infectious animal.

public health officials?

What they really do?

Is there any punishment for them not to do their job properly?

Glad they were rescued, but they will be dead in days. There is very little animal welfare here.

Really? Bring yourself down here to Okinawa, with the exception of a very few number of dogs, due to health reasons, there have been NO dogs put down here by the shelter in over a year!

Volunteer groups all over the island have stepped up and either adopted or fostered ALL the dogs that were brought to the prefectural shelter and used to be euthanized.

Okinawa WAS the worst in all Japan, with well over 6,000 dogs and cats euthanized yearly.

Even a number of pet shops have stopped selling "greeder" dogs any ONLY have rescues available!

Dont generalize when you dont know!

Now it's time to give both of our sweet doggies their breakfast (before our female comes in and scolds me, lol). She's a bossy girl!

Always these kind of things, shows the worst of peoples and the country too

@Brian Wheway:

They didn't provide food for them all. There are photos taken by the rescue team, of the dogs eating each others' faeces for nourishment.

Here is a link to Dobutsukikin information about the house and the rescue.

https://www.doubutukikin.or.jp/activitynews/%e7%8f%be%e5%9c%b0%e8%a6%96%e5%af%9f%e5%a0%b1%e5%91%8a%e3%81%a8%e3%81%8a%e7%a4%bc%e3%80%80%e7%8a%ac164%e9%a0%ad%e9%a3%bc%e8%82%b2%e5%b4%a9%e5%a3%8a/

hashtag not all homosapiens

Damned unfair of everyone to start blaming the public health officials.

Typical armchair warrior reactions from ignorant readers who have no clue how the real world works.

How do you expect them to act when they are given no powers to force entry and inspection?

How do you expect them to escalate to police when there are no concrete laws on suspected animal cruelty by private owners which the police can act on?

Blame the system. Blame the typical unenforceable 'guidelines'. Don't blame the poor sod trying to do his job without any powers to do so.

If I were a dog I wouldn’t want to live in Japan. Well any animal for that matter

Stories like this are disturbing to say the least, but to lumping all of us pet owners into the same group is just as disturbing if not more!

My family and I take VERY good care of our furry family member and I take SERIOUS offense at your inference here!