Beer for your Dog - Happy Lager

You've just gone out shopping with Fritzie to the little shop in Ginza that specializes in dogwear for dachshunds only. Perhaps you've bought him custom-fitted lederhosen and you're thinking "hmm, a nice Bitburger Pils for the both of us might be nice." There's a great little izakaya down under the JR line that has German ryori and beer. But alas, in Tokyo, there are cafes for pets and for humans, but never the twain shall meet.

Don't despair, though. You can get a six of Happy Lager and have a little party at home!

We recently were at our local discount liquor barn and saw a display for Happy Lager, a near-beer marketed for dogs... er, rather for obsessive dog owners. The beer's label, touting "healthy drink" pictures a happy beagle, slavering over a freshly poured glass of suds. The "beer", itself, is a beef-flavored beverage that little Fido will love.

Pet owners worldwide anthropomorphize their charges, but in Japan it's taken to new level. To wit the specialty shops and cafes and the parade of fashionably clothed dogs you can see on many streets and any park. But now, you can sit at home, crack open a beer for yourself and the dog, bring out the milkbones and kakipeas, and settle down in front of the TV with your best friend and maybe watch some sumo... or perhaps a dog competition?

Check out their website here, where they have a wonderful promotion for hanami (cherry blossom viewing) featuring crudely photoshopped dogs viewing flowering trees - and a sweet pink-cheeked, fluffy white mutt passed out in the foreground.

NV