Police in Saitama Prefecture are looking for the person who stabbed a guide dog while it was with its 61-year-old visually-impaired owner in Saitama.
The incident has received a lot of media coverage since details were released this week. The owner of the dog was quoted by media as saying he has been afraid to leave his home since the incident, TBS reported.
According to police, the dog, an 8-year-old male Labrador Retriever named Oscar, boarded a train with his owner at JR Urawa Station at around 11 a.m. on July 28. The owner told police he got off the train at JR Higashi-Kawaguchi Station, bought some items at a convenience store and then went to the office where he worked. A colleague noticed the dog bleeding.
Surveillance camera footage from the convenience store showed blood on Oscar, leading police to believe that the dog was either stabbed on the train or after leaving the station, TBS reported.
Police said there were three stab wounds on Oscar’s body but none went through the vest he was wearing. Guide dogs are trained not to bark lest they distort their owners’ sense of direction. Oscar did not bark during the attack, police said, adding that it is difficult to pinpoint the exact scene of the crime.
Since the incident was publicized on NHK and other networks on Thursday night, the Internet has been buzzing with comments from angry citizens saying the crime was unforgivable, considering what guide dogs do.
Japan Today
Feature image: nikaikyoburogu