Creature comforts

The society of the earlier one child-policy has bred a hankering for companionship that many are fulfilling by resorting to pets

A few months ago I bumped into a friend in a Japanese restaurant. He ordered a pot of sake and invited me to join him. I told him I was going to get a cat, and his jolly mood instantly turned somber.

"My dog died a week ago," he said numbly as he held a cup of sake in his hand.