Get your schooling, get your job, get married and have a dog. If you plan any outings with your pooch, you'll need a vehicle, so Honda launched a dog car website: Honda Dog [1] just for the occasion.
"Reuters reports that visitors to the site, which is in Japanese, can learn about events where they can test-drive Hondas with their canine companions or even go to races where a section is reserved for guests with dogs. It further shows pup owners the most efficient arrangements for pet crates in most of Honda's vehicles — and touts the automaker's advanced deodorization filter, which lowers in-vehicle allergens and helps get rid of undesirable smells." from this article: Dog Bytes: Honda Japan Mounts a Dog-Specific Web Site [2]
This news came in an email hawking Hondas in my inbox today, "Honda has discovered the recent pet boom that has birthrate on the decline, and pet ownership on the rise in Japan." There's a concept to lower birthrates for ya. Have a kid or two (not 13) and a dog.
Me? Born in Japan, first dogs, Hachi, Dachi and Dozo - all shepards. Dozo - my "first dog" traveled to the US on a ship across the Pacific with us in 1958. I can't say that he was hummimng "Comin' to America" while on board, but I do have a sweet picture of my brother whose duty it was to fetch him from the ship's kennel and walk him on deck four times a day. According to my parents, Japanese families were overrun with US military base dogs in the 1950s and since they were not spayed or neutered there were always more puppies than a family could feed. The standard procedure was to select a "rich American" who lived in off base and dig a hole under their fence, insert dog and hope the puppy would be well received. This is how Hachi, Dachi and Dozo came to live with us in Japan.
All dogs always traveled with the family in the car. Currently my Honda means adventure for my pooch, Phoebe, and sometimes she even brings a friend. She especially likes the Chagrin River and Whiskey Island. Fur and pawprints in the car? You bet. She's white. I avoid wearing black.
Where I like to vacation, the listings of beach houses to rent have little pawprints to indicate which houses are dog friendly. I have to admit that she rules many decisions for me. For many years it was one kid and two dogs ruling the roost and the car and the plans. Now Phoebe has the upper paw.
Links:
[1] http://www.honda.co.jp/dog/
[2] http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=126621