3:55 PM

Pet Lost In Japan

We recently had our hearts ripped out our chest... & put back in, when our precious Molly went missing... in JAPAN! We were so lost with the language & cultural barriers (which is our fault) that I was just certain that we had lost Molly forever. She did find her a nice older single lady who did keep her safe & returned her home!


The postman accidentally, in a hurry, left our gate unlocked, so when the wind blew, it just opened up to a world beyond the fence... our Molly took off without even a warning. Being we had (notice the past-tense there) a doggie door, she easily went in & out all day on her own... so when she saw the world beyond the fence, she had to take advantage.

Well, like silly Americans who have an indoor dog, we took her collar off because 1- she was micro-chipped & 2- the constant scratching, thus ringing of the collar was pretty annoying at 3 am. So she set off to see what she could find without a care in the world & without any visible identification!

HOW DID WE GET HER BACK? Well, we weren't sure where to start, so we called the realtor, who's our go-between with the landlord up in Tokyo & he made some calls.

Then after hours of no Molly, & the sun was setting, we went to the city police station to report her missing. We had to use the Yokosuka Police because our "koban" was closed & they spoke no English. They took the report & sent out FYI's to all our local police departments. What we learned was:

1. Though it is required to import your pet to Japan & has to be compatible to their standards, they don't have the ability to scan your pet's microchip! A vet might, but the local authorities do not (as least not in Yokosuka... which is predominately where Americans are in this area).

2. Even if you have their ID tag on them, or a vet scans your pet's microchip, it is a stateside programed chip, so they would have to call America to get your contact information... which we were told they would NOT call... they might call the base to ask if they knew...

3. So because of #2, you need to call the military vet to report your lost pet, who then notifies base security. If you notify base security first, they don't contact the vet...

4. And you need to call the microchip company (Home Again in our case) and let them know so they have an FYI in case someone does call... the part that sucks here is that since we are overseas, they can't help us find our lost pet like they could in the states.

5. There are NO shelters or kennels for the homeless pets.

6. If your pet is reported & have no one (founding civilian) willing to keep your pet until your are notified, they have 3 days & then they are put "to sleep". They kill your lost pet if they can't find you & no one willing to take them in!!!! And this was expressed to us very strongly more than once & with "very strict law in Japan".

As with most individuals who meet & know Molly, our little neighbor lady who found Molly was more than willing to keep Molly if we couldn't be found :D I am glad to know that my Grands (God Rest Her Soul) was watching over Molly & kept her safe.