Click to play videoTokyo: Nearly 17 years old, Indy, a black Labrador needs help getting in the car.
He struggles to walk short distances and needs help rolling over in his dog bed.
Indy's owner, Hisashi Ishida says, "He's like my child. No. He is my child. And we have to take care of him like we do our elderly."
Indy gets water therapy treatments once a week. It's followed by a water massage — all this costing more than $ 500 a month.
Ishida says he even moved closer to a spa just so Indy could get regular therapy.
Indy's acupuncturist, Dr Takeshi Yamauchi says Indy needs: "Love, love, love! Much more than husband or child."
It's perhaps not so surprising in a country that dotes on its pets, where buying designer duds for your dog is common. Now, an entire industry has sprouted up around aging animals.
That's because there are more old pets in Japan than ever before. Pet ownership boomed in the early 90's and just like with the baby boomers, families are now seeking elderly care options so that their pets live longer.
Dr Takeshi says, "On a 50:50 ratio, cats live up to the age of 22 or 23 with good care and dogs can live up to 19 years."
A mother daughter duo at Dr Takeshi's clinic says that they bring their 11 year old Shih Tzu, Babo there twice a week to give him acupuncture treatment for his achy hips.
It's estimated that one in four humans in Japan will be sixty-five or over in less than a decade. These doting pet owners say think of yourself and and how you'd like to be treated when you're old. That's how they are treating their pets — with love and care.
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