"How do you like your pet?" Ask this question in, say, Seoul or Shanghai, and they might reply: "Lightly fricasseed, please, and don't skimp on the soy sauce."

In Tokyo, however, we don't eat our pets, not even when we're hungry. We treat them, we revere them, we pamper and we preen them. Sure, there's the occasional sadisitic dog breeder, but the numbers show that a quarter of us Tokyoites own pets, and we blow more cash on them than we do on our own health insurance. Pets with the right connections can get work as therapists, open bank accounts, listen to special radio stations, and even bathe in exclusive onsen resorts.

Take a wander through our wild guide to Tokyo creatures and you'll realize this city is a sanctuary of love, peace and affection for anything with fur, feathers, scales or feelers -- with the possible exception of roaches.

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