Report based on the timeline is still under construction. Please wait for a little more.

We have received supports from many concerned people, and all members at the shelter appreciate them so much.
We actually made our minds to protect dogs because of one phone call in the morning on October 11th.
On the day before we visited the shelter for the first time, and we just started to make the list of dogs.
Shelter was filled with odor from the waste and no facilities were constructed to suit dog�fs habits.
Huskies started barking as soon as they saw human.
The howling-like�@ cry of wretched dogs poked my ears.
One dog who seemed to be in a pretty bad condition was insanely howling.
That husky was suffering from piles, and seemed very severe.
In the shelter, two full-time employed caretakers watched dog�fs health condition.
We approached to that dog (called Mark), pat him and said,
�g Hang on for a little bit more. We�fll save you very soon. Please hang on.�h

The phone call in the morning was from the owner of the dogs at that time.
He said, �g Mark died. It�fs hopeless.�h
He sounded like Mark died due to lack of protection.
In fact, after I left the shelter, I kept thinking if his howling and unusual behavior indicated some urgent situation.
Mark�fs death crushed me and gave me a shock.
I was so overwhelmed with the feeling of repentance that no words came out of my mouth.
When I realized, I was just apologizing on the phone.
The apology was not for the owners.
But it was to Mark who just passed away.
It was a fact that we let that situation pass.
Maybe he could be cured if we took him to the veterinarian at that moment.
His death stabbed our heart.
That was the moment when we seriously made up our mind to get involved with the situation.
I promised to myself, �g I will never let any one of these dogs pass away. Ever.�h
Without his death, we probably withdrew from the situation after recognizing other organizations activities.

When we first talked with a dogs�f owner, he said to me,
�g A president who was also an financier deserted us because of the bad loans. I have been assigned to handle remaining tasks since October 1st.
Now I own about 200 dogs, but I am considering closing the store soon and clear all of them away. However, the issue can�ft be done in a day or two since there still is a problem of employees�f wage. Because of our financial situation, there is no time for me to provide care for the dogs. I am looking for a place where dogs can be protected. I think dogs in the mountain shelter will be first given care, then eventually all the dogs will be protected.�h
He also noted that the store probably would be closed on around October 20th.
We requested him an agreement with out policies of protection and to sign the document.
By that time, there were only 10 days left until the store closes.
We hurriedly started making a list of the dogs.

When we first attended the shelter care, dogs were fed with large bags of dog food, which were sold on sale at the home center.
Besides those bags, there were also other bags of dog food in the corner of the room.
I assumed that dog food was supplied sufficiently.
According to the story of full-time employed caretakers, those dog foods were sent to support the store.
However, the contents were all moldy and could not be given to the dogs.
In the situation when there are no foods, they had no choice but to feed dogs with the moldy food.
As a result, dogs started to have diarrhea and bloody feces, and after all no food could be given.
They told us that now they feed dogs with the cheap bags of food from the home center at their own expense.
They also said that lives of these dogs couldn�ft be substituted with money even if their wages are unpaid.

Since then, we started to go to the shelter with dog food.
We also asked some members on the mailing list to send any dog food left over at their home.
Plenty of dog foods were sent to us one after another from on-line members that I didn�ft expect to be so many.
Letters were attached to each food, saying �g This is what I can do for now since I can�ft attend the care.
Those on-line members cooperated with us to collect more information helpful for our project.

Now I wonder if the owner could financially support the care.
He was actually marketing the pet shop by placing print ad inserts on the local newspaper at the time we started the care.
Maybe we were simply used.
But it was a reality that the owner made unpaid-employees provide food at their expense instead of his.

In the first 2 to 3 days, we completed taking picture of all the dogs, and members who could not participate in the actual care finished the list of them.
Meanwhile, we continued to take care of dogs and collect information.
To change the inhumane air filled in the shelter,
Environment started to improve little by little.

We placed an utmost importance on saving the lives of dogs suffering just in front of our sight.
After dogs are completely secured, secondary importance should be placed on solving problems stemmed in the human society, such as denouncing the people who caused this type of tragedy, and prevention activities.
Punishment to humans can only be made through the legal action.
Our members actually went to court to plead for some action against the people who were responsible for these dogs.

When people use dogs in their businesses, they start to focus on their own wealth by sacrificing dogs even if they were originally dog lovers.
Love for the dogs and attachment to them must be similar with us, but such feelings deteriorate at the moment when they try to use them.
Perhaps the people responsible for this tragedy all forgot what they used to give to dogs and gain from them.

We are probably too simple-minded.
Just like some animal rescue organization suggested to us, it was better for us to let the situation go and overlook what is happening to the dogs.
Maybe it was better if we let the dogs pass away like they actually do.
No responsibility was placed upon us if we did not get involved.
If so many dogs die, maybe it was possible to appeal to the society as sensational news.
We did not have to be criticized for indeed supporting the pet shop and to be attacked by some of the official organizations.
If we did not know about this, we could just live in the human society as we usually do.
We could even pretend like we did not see the scene, and spend our usual life.
Like we actually do now, perhaps it was better if we just continued to take care of dogs at our expense, not telling anyone else.
If we acted in such a way, nobody made an objection to our activities.

However, these are all caused by the human society.
This might be an anger derived from the value difference of each person.
It may be wrong to protect animals without any direction of the official organizations.
Perhaps ordinary dog lovers should just keep donating.
Is this a problem, which can be settled by just finding a leader and accusing that person?
Is denouncing that person the only thing we can do?
What does it mean by passing judgment?
After all, the central problem arises from many elements that revolve around these dogs. People who incurred loss by cooperating with that leader incited dog market to take advantage of the trend of pet keeping. Current official organizations are attacking others�f activities like they will not allow anybody in their territory. People have hesitant attitude toward the troublesome issues
All these problems are derived in the human society. Is it unreasonable to consider dogs as innocent?

They are the silent victims of our countless mistakes.
When ewe are working to improve the situation for these dogs who used to be somebody�fs property, sometimes I feel like they are not mere silent victims.
These dogs perhaps wanted to tell something through us.
I keep wondering why they were not helped by official organizations, why the situation was not so simple, and why it was not open to public.
Why does similar case continues even if there are so many protection organizations in the society?

The situation can be worse by simplifying the way of living with other life form, dogs.
On the other hand, being persistent in one�fs own way also can create immoral result.
It is all about the capacity and balance when one becomes stuck with particular way and starts to attack others.
Such things could happen to anybody.

The project gave me an opportunity to recognize how terrible it is to involve in marketing, protecting, and managing of dogs.
It is surprising that various benefits and loss are complicated even from the protector�fs point of view.
However, members are greatly encouraged by the fact known through the site that there are many people willing to protect dogs with serious concern.

Compare to the past situation of routine work to save dogs�f lives, the environment for dogs dramatically improved due to the cooperation from the volunteer participants.
There is much less desperate howling in the facility.
Some dogs can sit and wait when a person stands in front of them.
The atmosphere is definitely starting to change with a feeling of �ghope.�h
Progress of dogs under the foster care is recorded in the journal.
There used to be dogs who are frightened to see people, but the encounter with trustful human would be a priceless experience for them.

The foster care probably would be much longer than our first expectation. Many people are involved and their feelings are complicated.
It is expected that we will be attacked and obstructed in many ways because of the value difference with other organizations.

However, if dogs�f lives are its expense, it is our priority to secure and protect them.
It is an ideal if we could simultaneously accuse somebody responsible for this situation, but our opinion is that if such accusation activity will sacrifice dogs�f lives, it is not possible to agree on that issue.

Currently our protection is operated solely by our expense because of other �fs accusation that our activity is defending the pet shop.
Because none of the accusing organizations have set up a message board for general public, we considered to implement a message board in our website.
We would like to respond and clear any doubts from public as much as possible.
Even when in a delicate situation, we will try to publicize any information that is hard to be open.
The person who should be accused unconcernedly ignores the memorandum for closing the shop.

After the memorandum was presented, he said to a person who visited the shop, �g We are only closing for redecoration of the shop. It is bothering if some strange rumor spreads around.�h
(Also, according to the information given today, 19th, one of the two employees was given a sole responsibility and shop opened again. A person who used to be in charge was dismissed. We have to come up with some other way again to prevent them from the similar tragedy.)
Decision depends on each one of you.
We are not an official protection organization.
Donated money is not used for our living expense.
In the case of raising contributions in the future, we will use an intermediary function to make all the donations open and aboveboard.
There is an apprehension about member going bankrupt based on the current situation.
Some members are already in debt.
I would like you to consider what it takes to commit oneself to protection full-time at one�fs own expense.

It is really grateful that we have many fellow members who try to achieve our goal together and are trustful.
Number of members is increasing by actually visiting the site and watching our activities.
Although some organizations including major ones keep silent to avoid interruption, they are secretly supporting us behind the scene.

When I consider about protection, it is an ideal form to find what one can do and act in order to achieve the same objective with others instead of relying everything onto one.

Possibility is infinite: social punishment to the leader of this tragedy, applying for permanent home or foster care, signing for the legal accusation of them, applying for volunteering, spreading the case to the public, educating the way of living together with dogs in the society, studying dogs �f mode of life, donating supply needed. They might overlap each other.

Please reconsider what you can do now and in the future to make the ideal society to live with dogs.

Save the ex-event dogs! Project team member,�@Yuri Inoue