Hmmmmmmmm today was .....great....kind of. I'm on the fence. It was truly wonderful to conduct follow ups with animals and their people and to see progress and change. However we also came across resignation which by rights we should have seen more of and most likely would have had this happened in a different country.Japan's 'pleasant' veneer of tatemae (public face ) and honmae (true/ private face) has its pluses and its minuses. Belle's owners dropped their public face and succumbed to their honmae in public. They can't continue to take care of her.They don't want to take her to temporary housing because everyone lives in everyone else's pockets. Belle has taken to barking quite alot recently and they don't want to be the cause of aggravation to the neighbours who reside in the same pocket they do. Her people have asked their 'before the tsunami' neighbours to watch her. Two families take it in turns to feed and walk Belle each day. I told them what JEARS can offer but they insisted they could manage. My heart went out to Belle. I didn't want the neighbours to simply "manage to" take care of her like an extra chore. I want them to give her the love and attention any dog deserves especially in their twilight years. Just in case you didn't read the earlier post Madame Belle is 11 years old and an up to the neck in water tsunami survivor. I wish the absolute best for any fourleggeder that crosses my path, but the ones getting on in years have a special place reserved for them. We left the JEARS contact information should the neighbours decide that their Belle chore is too much for them. Had her coat not had loose tufts attached to it or her bed not been muddy and damp from the rain I'd have left a happier camper but who am I to swan in and demand my ideals be upheld when I'm not there to pull my weight in the whole equation? I did all that I could there and then. I've been in touch with a different neighbour san between my trips up north, I'll be the fly on Belle's kennel wall for JEARS.
Belle receiving Tony's donation
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