Rent-A-Dog!

Not a real dog by the way.

Sunny days in June are kind of a heaven-send, and I was resolved not to spend today indoors, enjoy some greenery, and have the benefit of companionship all three. And luckily I found the perfect way to kill three birds with one stone! Today's expedition took me to Yoyogi, a part of Tokyo located between Shibuya and Shinjuku, known for nothing if not its enormous park.
 Here, conveniently situated only a few blocks away from Yoyogi Park, is a quaint little shop named Dog Heart, which fortunately isn't a restaurant. In principle, Dog Heart isn't too far removed from the rabbit cafe I had visited not too long ago. It's a small space where you can sit down and have a coffee, and, as you'd guess, enjoy the company of dogs. Lots and lots of them. Though most of the members of the pack are poodles, there's a fair number of beagles, and a single golden retriever, which, incidentally, must feel a little out of place in the company of dogs half its size, but didn't look any worst for it. As a matter of fact, most of the dogs looked quite happy.

 But sitting in a room surrounded by nine poodles, two beagles and a golden retriever wasn't what I had come for! Instead, Dog Heart also offers a different service - that of renting one of its hearty residents! At the price of 3600 yen an hour, it doesn't totally break the bank, but it's not exactly cheap either. I signed a few forms and agreed to all the clauses saying I couldn't let my dog get hit by a car and was responsible for bringing back her poop, and presto! Seeing as the retriever was currently reserved, I chose a slightly sullen looking beagle amongst the droves of poodles (some of which were literally jumping up and down, in hopes of being picked perhaps.) And just like that, I had bought an hour of Marin the beagle's time!

 I can't say I'm much of a dog person at heart, and I really don't know much about dogs to begin with, so I can't tell if Marin the beagle was as happy to spend an hour with me as I was to spend an hour with her. None the less, I took her to Yoyogi park as advised by the staff of Dog Heart, and she spent a good amount of our time together with her nose in the bushes. There was the one time she happened to find dog food on the ground and I had to grab her and run off somewhere else because the contract I had signed had told me not to feed the dog anything. I think Marin the beagle kind of resented that. But still! I was quite stoked that I got to feel like a genuine dog owner and make the best of the one sunny day we've had in weeks. After most of our time together had passed, Marin got a little tired and so I opted to carry her back home rather than walk her, which she actually didn't seem to mind too much.

 By the time I got back, though, there was actually a line of customers forming, seeming to be ready to rent a dog too, so it seems like the business is doing quite well for itself. I wouldn't be too surprised if there were regulars, even, who rent the same dogs on a weekly basis. Though I'm not quite sure Marin the beagle took to me much, I was pretty proud of myself without entirely knowing why. Regardless, if renting a dog seems like something you'd want to do, I could hardly think of a better location to do it at, so there! Dog Heart is like a good dog. It's...good!