Nagoya Pet Expo

The two of us were extremely happy to meet each other

I should really stop holding small animals like this, they never like it!

Within a few days of arriving in Nagoya, I found out that there was a pet expo happening in July. Luckily, we had two days off from work training because of a national holiday (Marine Day). We skipped the holiday's presumed beach destination and instead took the commuter train down to an exhibition hall where we found pets aplenty.

Surprisingly, there weren't too many messes, and we got to see lots of adorable dogs! There was a small section for cats, but they were all in cages and didn't seem too happy to be there with all of us ogling them! The pet expo had a miniature petting zoo with a baby pig, little chicks, guinea pigs, and even a few goats! Oddly, there was also an owl featured in the kids' area, and I was surprised to see him awake. (He was chained to a wooden post and also did not look super jazzed to be there, unfortunately.)

Sleepy pet ferret

Japan is all about cute things, of course, and this was our chance to squeal like little kids over all the cute pets. We even saw some fennec foxes, which are not common pets; according to a fellow trainee, they are major diggers and tend to dig up their owners' homes... thus requiring fennec fox owners to hold a wild animal license, at least in the U.S.

There were quite a few other exotic creatures present, like some long-necked turtles, a few brightly plumed parrots, a ferret, and a monitor lizard. The lizard's owner was carrying him on his back and head, and the lizard had his own little leash!

One of the main points of the pet expo was for pet owners to bring their pets along and shop for various accessories and food for them. My co-trainees and I completely ignored that aspect, choosing instead to spend all our energy cooing over cute dogs, asking their owners if we could pet them. There were TONS of Shiba Inu, one of my favorite dog breeds. There was even a Shiba-Corgi mix, which absolutely made my day! He was there with some animal shelter representatives, but their shelter is in Osaka, so I can't volunteer there. :(

It was a great way to turn our focus away from teacher training for a bit, because it has been very rough in many different ways. I'm so glad we went! Next mission: visit a cat cafe and/or a bunny cafe!

This Westie is wearing a yukata (summer kimono)!!!