Pet-friendly evacuation center in quake-hit Japan city keeps owners, animals safe

SUZU, Ishikawa — A shelter for earthquake evacuees in this central Japan city is allowing evacuees to bring their pets, and other facilities are preparing to follow suit to discourage pet owners from staying in damaged homes amid the threat of secondary disasters.

The city of Suzu saw some of the worst damage from the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake. Inside the Iida community center in the city, which is serving as an evacuation facility, tents are lined up to create a sense of privacy. There are also blanket-covered cardboard beds and pet houses for those staying with their pets.

As of Feb. 24, 10 people from six households were staying with their cats or dogs. The facility can accept up to around 10 households with pets. Supplies such as pet food, sand for litter boxes and cages are available for owners, including those not staying there.

The facility opened its doors on Jan. 28 with the help of parties including the Japan Rescue Association, a nonprofit organization based in the city of Itami, Hyogo Prefecture. The association has provided aid for pets following the 2016 earthquakes in Kumamoto and other disasters. According to a survey the group conducted on around 100 pet owners in the wake of the Noto quake, fewer than 20% of those able to stay at evacuation centers in Suzu were accompanied by their pets. The survey also found that some pet owners had opted to sleep in their cars, concerned that their animals’ cries and other factors would impact others in the shelters, and that their health had suffered as a result.

Kazuko Yagi, the 49-year-old owner of Mei, a 5-year-old Labrador retriever, abandoned the idea of sleeping in her car because the road in front of her home was lifted up by the quake and she couldn’t get the vehicle out. She first overnighted at a nearby elementary school where pets were not allowed. She said that her only choice was to keep the animal leashed at her home’s entrance, where temperatures dropped below freezing at night and in the morning.

Yagi saw how Mei changed due to stress from the disrupted environment. As soon as the pet-friendly shelter opened its doors, she moved there. Since then, she and her dog have been able to spend more time together. “I think we can both feel more at ease,” she said.

Ikumi Tsujimoto, an animal welfare officer for the Japan Rescue Association, said, “The establishment of shelters ensures the safety not only of pets, but their owners. The government, in cooperation with the private sector, must prepare model cases of evacuation centers that allow people to come with their pets ahead of time.”

(Japanese original by Kazuki Yamazaki, Osaka Photo Department)